Category: Updates

Understanding the In’s and Out’s of a Non-profit Organization and Surveying Trees

by mvasquez10

  The Blue Heron Nature Preserve (BHNP) is more than just a pretty place to stretch your legs. During our time volunteering our coordinator has emphasized the importance of learning what it takes to keep a nonprofit organization moving toward its goals. During our first few weeks, we met with individuals from the different departments that help maintain the vision of the BHNP. Essentially, it can be broken down into four main categories; management, development; education; and environmental science. The Executive Director explained her role as the main representative of the BHNP to other organizations and government offices, she also is responsible for managing the staff and making final decisions about future operations and developments. Those on the development side are in charge of securing funding and planning outreach events with corporate and private donors. Education is one of the most important roles for this non-profit, not only for the hard work of planning summer camps, and after-school programs that require teaching staff, supplies, and a lot of forward planning but because it is through these programs that the BHNP receives most of their funding. And last but certainly not least is the environmental science department which acts as the guiding light for all decisions of development and educational program, making sure that preserving, caring for, and monitoring the precious ecosystems within the preserve are done in a beneficial and meaningful way. 

  Ava and I are volunteering under the environmental science department head, Denise Cardin, one of our duties is to help with the ongoing tree survey. A tree survey can be thought of as taking inventory of all the mature trees in the area, identifying them, taking measurements, marking their location, and noting any observations of poor health such as signs of rot, fungi, Ivy, and harmful pests.

Here we are working on one of the trees just outside the parking lot area. This was a fun tree to work on because it did not match any of the descriptions listed in provided Tree ID Booklet we were provided. Being a plant nerd, I took this as a challenge and tried my best to piece together a reasonable identification for it, my best guess was it was some kind of Yew, based on the branching pattern, and leaf orientation. Luckily, I have a plant ID app on my phone which came in handy once I figured out what I was looking for and was able to confirm that it was indeed a Yew tree. It was moments like these that I find the most rewarding working outside, I love learning more, and figuring things out like a puzzle. Ava was also extremely helpful taking notes as we talked and joked about anything and everything. 

  Next week we will begin work on our project, installing an educational sign that explains the importance of the locally endangered native flowers growing in the preserve. We are all really looking forward to getting started and bringing our vision to life!

Service Blog Post #4 Checking In

by lavellaneda1

Volunteering at Wild Nest has allowed me to get more familiar with knowing what kind of care birds require. Over the last four times I have gone to volunteer, I have been presented with various tasks such as preparing food, washing dishes, going down to the aviary, and midday clean up duties. Birds usually eat berries which have to be cut into tiny pieces because for some reason, they tend to go uneaten when the pieces are too large. Going down to the outdoor aviary tends to consist of bringing down fruit and seeds down to the birds who are getting ready to be released. There are two separate outdoor aviaries, one of them I am not allowed to enter into due to it housing the infamous “your majesty” who is a bird known for flying and landing on you while biting. One of the activities I enjoyed most was being able to handle the medications for three birds. I was given the privilege of measuring out the dosage and getting medications ready. 

Over the last two weeks, the number of birds at Wild Nest have greatly increased in number. The adult and juvie room are close to being full of birds while at the same time due to baby bird season finally arriving, there has been an influx of baby birds who are being nursed. Just this week, six recently hatched baby wrens were brought in and are currently being thermoregulated in an incubator at 85 Celsius. Every 15 minutes the wren are being feed nutritional baby formula using a 1 ml o-ring syringe with a cannula tip. Baby wrens like to be hidden which is why when they are placed into their incubator, they are hidden with a light piece of napkin. After 5 minutes have passed from the formula feeding, the baby birds are once again taken out to be feed worms. The worms are cut in half and placed in water to help with hydration. I was given the opportunity to feed the baby wrens worms and had to whistle and blow on the wrens multiple times to get them to open their beaks. This helps them open their beaks due to the sounds sounding similar to their mothers. 

I have greatly enjoyed volunteering at Wild Nest and it has certainly exceeded my expectations. Everything has a set system and is very organized which helps when you’re starting out to volunteer. I’m looking forward to increasing my knowledge about birds and continuing to volunteer with this organization. 

Concrete Jungle Blog #4

by eocasio1

Over these past few weeks, I have been volunteering and doing various things for the Concrete Jungle organization. The first task I was asked to work on involved their social media platforms and designing a new template for them. In an effort to highlight produce that is underutilized, they asked me to create a template for a new weekly post called “Fruit Fact Friday.” The template consists of three slides: the first being where I can present the title and picture of the fruit, the second slide provides the fun fact, and the third highlights a picture of them actively harvesting the fruit. First, I came up with three different template designs to ensure I was providing them with the exact template they are looking for. I then emailed them all to the Communications Director; where she was able to look through them and pick her favorite. I am now in the last stages of finalizing the template, using the corrections I was given. Once it is finalized, they will be able to use this template for every fruit they harvest and post something every Friday to keep engagement up!

Along with the social media side, I have also been helping in their volunteer opportunities. The first one Viraj and I have done has been the farm days. Concrete Jungle has an area of farm land right in Atlanta where they grow apple trees, pear trees, guava-pineapple trees, various vegetables, and much more. On the first farm day, we helped to de-weed the vegetable beds and the various fruit trees. I was told that this would help the trees and veggies to thrive. The second volunteer task we have been doing has been going to a local farmer’s market, Freedom Farmers Market, and collecting left over produce. On these days, we first head to Intown Collaborative Ministries, a local soup kitchen, and pick up a wagon for the produce and “Concrete Jungle” aprons. From there, we head to the farmer’s market and go around to different vendors with fresh produce. We start off by introducing ourselves and what we are there for. We then ask if they would like to donate any of their produce that will go bad soon to a local soup kitchen. Collecting all the produce we get; we then return to Intown Collaborative Ministries where we weigh the produce we got and deliver it to them to give out at their next soup kitchen drive! I have loved working with Concrete Jungle so far and learning more about this organization and their mission!

Service Blog Post #3: Wild Nest

by nmuhammad31

I have been doing many tasks at Wild Nest. Aside from doing the laundry and dishes, I learned how to prepare the food for the birds. Different types of birds require different types of foods. For example, hummingbirds eat nectar, and this nectar is a liquid which we put in syringes and let them self-feed from in their cages. Other birds such as doves, robins, and the waxwings have diets that consists of mealworms, avian salad, berries, insect mix, and sometimes earthworms and seeds. Some birds need special care, for example, having a heat lamp above their cage. I also learned how to properly catch a bird from their cage to take out for weighing and feeding medications. When I see the shift leaders try to catch a bird, they have to be quick with it because some of the birds fly around so fast and is hard to catch. In order to properly hold a bird, you have to put its head in between your index and middle fingers and use your other fingers to gently hold the body as to not let it fly away. I also learned how different injuries can affect a bird. Just recently, Wild Nest took in a bird that most likely got hit by a car. Upon examination of the bird, its head would go back and forth, kind of like a twitch. Its head was also extremely swollen. This is the outcome of getting hit by a car. Our project will discuss how to prevent birds from needing rehabilitation. We will discuss the common causes of bird injuries, mainly focusing on window collisions, cat interactions, and glue traps. We will also discuss possible solutions to these problems. The most interesting aspect of my service is learning how unique each bird is. Each bird has preferences for its diet. Certain species are more friendly towards other birds than others. Some birds are really easy going and easy to handle, while some are fast and full of energy. Working with birds made me realize how unique each bird is and how incredible of an animal it is. This is why we should try our best to learn about the common problems birds face and we need to learn how we can prevent injuries to birds.

First Day Takeaways: Blue Heron Nature Preserve

by astapleton3

                                     

On our first day of work with Blue Heron Nature Preserve, my classmate Milo Vasquez and I met with Executive Director Melody Harclerode and Conservation and Operations Director Denise Cardin. First, Denise greeted us and gave us a synopsis of the organization’s missions, current projects, and the kind of work we will be doing. Their official mission is to provide access to green space and environmental education in Atlanta, but they also want to provide a space for art to flourish as well, showing off original pieces by several different artists in the Atlanta area. Both Denise and Melody asked us in-depth questions about our strengths and our interests, and it was nice to see that they want to work with the skillsets we already have and give us a fulfilling opportunity based on that. Milo, who is very familiar with the plant life both here and in his home state of Oregon, has a deep level of interest and experience in Environmental Science, whereas my interests mostly lie in art and communication (though I have a healthy amount of experience in event coordination as well).

I’m excited for the two of us to get as hands-on as possible, especially since our strengths seem to complement each other. Denise also took Milo and me on a tour of the building and let us wander around one of their trails, where we discovered a community garden and compost space. During the tour, she asked us if we knew about heat islands, to which we replied affirmatively since that was defined for us in our class’s first reading, Atlanta City Design: Nature (published by the Department of City Planning). Heat islands are a problem we see in Atlanta often, where infrastructure in urban areas absorb and trap heat from the sun, which negatively affects the climate and air pollution levels. We discussed the role of tree canopies and how integral they are to protecting heat islands, specifically with the lack of green space here in Atlanta. What shocked me the most was when she showed us a marsh out the window attached to a stream (pictured above left) and told us that it used to be a lake. She said that people in the neighborhood adjacent to the preserve remember ice skating on the lake in the Winter, which is unfathomable to think about looking at it now.

Last, Milo and I had an opportunity to sit and talk with Melody and ask her any sort of questions we may have had. Milo definitely had me beat in the question department, but I think we’ll both learn best as we go along and think of possible questions as they arise. Our first task will be to survey the trees throughout the space and measure their circumference. I am eager for more of this type of work in the future and excited about all the new information I expect to learn throughout my time with Blue Heron Nature Preserve.

 

Blog Post #2: Getting Started

by jdavis311

I first physically engaged with my Community Partner, Wild Nest Bird Rehab, last Sunday. At this initial meeting, my GSU team members and I went through an orientation led by both of Wild Nest’s training leaders. Here we learned about the organization’s history, what help they expect from us, and where everything is located in the facility. Located within Legacy Park in Decatur, GA, Wild Nest will be having its first baby bird season in its newly renovated facility this year. Baby bird season is their busiest season, and it will start in a few weeks, so this is an exciting time to begin volunteering with the organization.

Wild Nest Bird Rehab began after Nancy Eileen decided that singlehandedly caring for birds in her home was becoming unfeasible. When going out of town, she would have to find someone to watch the birds, and when dozens of baby birds needed to be fed every few minutes she would need extra hands. Wild Nest Bird Rehab is meant to serve as a place where people can join forces to care for many more birds than a single person could. Their goal is to rehabilitate and release songbirds and inform the public about ways they can reduce threats to these birds.

Getting to see and interact with baby birds is the most exciting part of this partnership to me. On Sunday we were able to see a baby hummingbird and I was shocked by how small it was! This link shows a picture of a baby hummingbird taken from Google Images.

Some of the most notable aspects of Wild Nest’s facility were the quarantine room for birds with diseases, the outdoor aviary where birds close to being released can practice flying again, and the kitchen where bird food is made. The kitchen even had a cookbook with recipes for different bird species. Live worms and leafy greens were part of many recipes.
My volunteer responsibilities will expand as I go through weeks of training. For the first three weeks, I will be shadowing a “Level 1” volunteer. After I have shadowed them for three weeks, I can choose to do the tasks I’ve been watching on my own with supervision or choose to shadow some more until I am more confident. Once I try the tasks on my own, the person who supervises me will certify that I am capable of doing “Level 1” tasks, then I can move on to shadow someone doing “Level 2” tasks and the process starts again. There are three levels of volunteer expertise, and I am able to stop training at whatever level I would like. The organization needs volunteers at each level and they are understanding of the possibility that volunteers could be uncomfortable doing higher-level tasks.

I am thoroughly enjoying my volunteer experience so far, and I hope my classmates are as well!