This past weekend was my monthly event at Big Tree Park in Longwood and I’d have to say it was a great success. When we arrived at the park, I realized after about five minutes of walking around that the air potato removal I was expecting would not be happening. It had rained a whole lot the night before, the ground was muddy and the potatoes themselves were buried deep into that mud. Realizing that we weren’t going to find what we were looking for, I decided to switch it to a litter clean up. Let’s just say it wasn’t hard to fill up our bags by the end of our two hours.

There has to be something said about flexibility, but I think there REALLY has to be something said about flexible volunteers. It’s really an amazing thing to see a group of people get together and so willingly participate in the unappealing acts of picking up litter and removing invasive weeds. And you see no sign of disinterest on their face when you change the days’ mission. They seem to always pick up and go on with the job even on days of freezing temperatures the night before, rain, and pestering mosquitoes. I often leave events with a sense of wonder at how great of a time everyone just had~you expect people to be complaining, miserable, or at the very least bored! But they don’t and they aren’t. Instead they come together with a feeling of goodness and togetherness, a combination that leaves me driving away with a feeling of joy at the end of each event.

It reminds me of how connected we all really are and it reminds me of how much we all need to get outside in nature. I believe that something opens up within these families, couples, and individuals when they spend time together in the outdoors. The feeling of being in the sun, getting a little dirt in your hands, and fresh air in your lungs may or may not be a rare experience for some, but it’s like food for the soul and the affects can always be seen.

Why else would so many volunteers who’ve never done an event like this tell me they’d love to come back? This happens EVERY TIME we have an event. I wonder if they realize what makes them feel this way. Why they volunteer to be sweaty, dirty, and put in physical labor they might usually cringe at. I believe it is that feeling of togetherness, of purpose, and of spending time outdoors that a light goes off in there head (ding!) and brings about this new sense of interest. It just makes you feel good.

My awesome volunteers at the Big Tree park event on 3/13/2010

UCF volunteers for their Knights Give Back event

Another set of awesome volunteers at my Big Tree Park event on 2/13/2010 ~ it was a cold one!