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Re: Prairie activities

Hello, Michael,

I'm responding to your request for ideas about "make a difference" day.

I suggest having a variety of activities that are "age" sensitive.  For 
example, younger kids like to collect seeds and to throw them around.  
Adolescent boys like to chop and cut things down. 

Everyone likes to see the landscape through the eyes of someone who loves 
it and sees it differently than the average person, so how about a game 
of "do you see what I see?" while you show them around. I'd maybe do that 
after showing my participants what I do see when I look out across the 
landscape: for example, which species jump out at me visually, which ones 
I can tell from a distance just by their color or grouping or texture.

I'd think about what the most important 2 or 3 messages are that I want 
the attendees to know when they leave at the end of the day.

Most people love to learn about how plants were used by native Americans. 
 Is there someone who can prepare cattail roots for tasting?  How about 
harvesting the cattail seed fluff so they can see and feel how useful it 
was in papoose cradles?  Touch tables are nice.  How about contrasting 
cattail fluff with today's diapers?

Are there any basket weavers in your city?  They could demonstrate using 
grasses and rushes for basket-weaving?

Do you have boats or canoes or tubes to take people out into the water? 
They can harvest trash from the surface.

How about having a few square feet each in different stages of readiness 
for restoration so people can see it instead of being told about it.

How about getting people to call in and sign up in advance for which 
restoration activity they most want to help with?  Or you could get a 
camping equipment store to sponsor the activity by putting up posters in 
the store and signing people up at their customer service counter. 

You or someone from your equipment sponsor could solicit food from the 
local grocery or bakery.  Bakeries will set aside for your helpers to 
pick up the day of the event their day-old stuff. This would be for when 
people first arrive, are finding their assigned posts for greeting the 
participants, are meeting their crew leaders, etc.  Cut up bananas and 
apples are easy.  Paper cups for gator aid.

You could decide ahead of time how many people you can handle at which 
activity and make a sign-up form for each one.  That has lots of 
benefits:  one of which is that people will sign up for the less popular 
activities when the others fill up; and other benefit is you can ask 
people to sign up to bring extra equipment you may need, like 
wheelbarrows. Also, you might be amazed at how many people will sign up 
for the dirtiest, hardest job.  They like to get a work out and feel like 
they are challenged and being helpful.

To get a lot done, how about lining up a trained volunteer crew leader 
for every 10 people you hope to have?  You could solicit these trainees 
and get them some hands-on experience before the event. 

I think a banner at the site is a most.  People love to rally around 
identifiable activities.

How about starting people at 8:30 AM and letting them work till about 
1PM? People don't get much work done after they eat lunch, so you might 
consider having the education hour after you get good work from them and 
while they eat their lunches.  

Also, it helps to have an igloo of water/gateraid with each work group, 
so they don't get cranky from dehydration or leave the group to seek out 
refreshments.

Are there any tasks your volunteers can do to help prepare the way for 
next year's restoration at this site? 

Keep notes about which people are outstanding and whom you will want to 
tap for greater tasks next time. 

Decide if this will be a rain or shine event.  If it might be postponed 
for bad weather that blows in the night before, decide what or whose 
number to post that people can call to find out.

Hope this helps.

Lee Stone
Senior Biologist
City of Austin Nature Preserves
Austin, Texas
leeprairie@aol.com


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