Ready to Volunteer Again
/Over the past week or so – I’ve been attending training sessions at the Howard County Conservancy’s Mt Pleasant in preparation for field trips that might happen this fall. With schools in the county just starting this week, there is a lot that is TBD for the fall field trips. There are more that the usual challenges: potential for COVID-19 outbreaks (vaccination and masking helps but is not 100%), shortage of bus drivers, and a higher percentage of new volunteers than in past years. The usual weather challenge for the outdoor programs seems small in comparison!
I am hopeful that there will be at least some field trips. The scheduling requirements probably mean there will not be a lot of them until October, and there might be some opportunities where the volunteer gig will be in the school yard rather than at Mt. Pleasant. Either way – being outdoors with students is something I look forward to every fall; I missed it in 2020.
The training session this past week was on a sunny, cool day after Hurricane Ida came through our area. I couldn’t resist some photography before/after the session.
Honors Garden
Sweet Bay seed pods just outside the Honors Garden – smaller than the pods of the Southern Magnolia but still looking like red M&Ms peeking out of the pod.
A little fall look with sunshine bringing out the changing color of leaves
Looking again at a tree stump cut earlier in the pandemic. I noticed that the rings are somewhat concentric for the early years of the tree’s life. Then they get very closely spaced on the side toward the bottom of these image. The tree seemed to grow skewed to the left!
As I got close to my car, I noticed that the old pear tree in the old orchard is loaded with fruit this year! .
The place….the people…it feels good to be on the cusp of fall volunteering!
