By Keith Williams, Vice President of Engagement and Marketing, and Avery Van Etten, Marketing and Communications Manager
Lancaster Conservancy volunteers are incredible. They care for trails, remove invasive plants, plant native species, provide nature education for community members, and more! They get their hiking shoes and gloves dirty for nature, multiplying the work the Conservancy can do to protect and restore our natural lands and provide access to the outdoors for all, and we are so grateful for their commitment to conservation.
We asked some of our volunteers to share their perspectives on volunteering with the Conservancy.
Volunteer Brad Gorter
Brad Gorter has taken on the elimination of invasive plants as his personal mission. He spends countless hours cutting, pulling, and dragging multiflora rose, bush honeysuckle, privet…whatever plant is taking over the native ecosystem and eliminating biodiversity. He also leads volunteer workdays that leverage the Conservancy’s ability to protect and restore the amazing landscape and ecology of our region.
Q: Why do you volunteer for Lancaster Conservancy?
A: The Conservancy, to me, provides a tangible way of “making a difference” in the short and long term, whether it’s the obvious difference in the landscape before and after an invasive removal, a year-over-year improvement in an ecosystem, or a simple passing along of knowledge to someone attending a Conservancy event. In a world full of efforts that seem to not make much of a difference, the Conservancy’s work offers distinct examples of how the tiny little efforts of the individual add up to enormous changes for the community.
Q: What is something you’ve learned as a Conservancy volunteer that stands out to you?
A: Everyone has something to teach and something to learn! While I can’t stress enough how much I’ve learned from Conservancy staff members, I have also learned huge amounts from public attendees of Conservancy events, other volunteers, and guest presenters at educational opportunities. I hope I’ve been able to share some knowledge, too, but I’ll leave that to others to judge.
Q: What do you want other people who may be interested in volunteering with the Conservancy to know?
A: No matter your physical, mental, or educational background and abilities, you are welcome and can make a difference. If you had told me five years ago that I would be involved with the Conservancy like I am, I would have been shocked! I lack any formal education in land protection or preservation, yet here I am helping to organize and run workdays with dozens of people. In short, we want you here, you belong with us, and whatever time and energy you can give, we welcome it!
Volunteer Hope Odenwalt
Photo courtesy of Hope Odenwalt
Hope Odenwalt is a preserve tabling aficionado. Preserve tabling is a critically important action since thousands of people visit Lancaster Conservancy preserves annually. Volunteers like Hope make sure visitors feel welcome, ensure they know Leave No Trace principles, and guide people to safely have incredible experiences in the special places we protect forever. Hope is a pillar among the tabling Volunteer Land Steward team.
Q: Why do you volunteer for Lancaster Conservancy?
A: I began volunteering during the spring of 2020 after I decided to take a break from teaching. One of the best things about teaching are the times when students teach me valuable lessons, and I knew that I would miss these moments. I am a lover of nature and have been hiking most of my life. I had just been introduced to the Conservancy the year before through a Water Week event and had fallen in love with native gardening. Well, there is no stopping someone who has found a new passion and wants to share it! Volunteering has allowed me to share my knowledge with others and to learn from some of the most amazing preserve visitors and staff.
Q: What is something you’ve learned as a Conservancy volunteer that stands out to you?
A: Volunteering has reminded me that people do care. They care about the creeks and rivers, they care about the plants, they care about the bugs, and they care about others. When the everyday hassles of life get you down, it’s wonderful to have a group of welcoming people that care.
Q: What do you want other people who may be interested in volunteering with the Conservancy to know?
A: I believe that there are many people in our community who would love to volunteer but feel overwhelmed by the potential time commitment or social requirements that come along with it. The Conservancy offers so many different opportunities to volunteer that fit with your particular interests, time constraints, energy level, and social needs.
Volunteer Jeff Sauer
Photo courtesy of Jeff Sauer
Jeff Sauer is an all-around rockstar. He tables, he tackles invasive plants, he does trail work, he maintains the Climbers Run Bird Cam. He has also been a regular at what we like to call “Thursday Night Fight Club,” during which we work to eliminate the invasive shrubs between the Goodno Trail and House Rock Ridge at Clark Nature Preserve.
Q: Why do you volunteer for Lancaster Conservancy?
A: I’ve utilized many of the preserves in the southern end for years running, hiking, dog walking, etc. and have always admired the Conservancy for what it does and brings to the community. I’ve planned on volunteering for some time when I retired and could pour myself into a cause that I really believe in.
Q: What is something you’ve learned as a Conservancy volunteer that stands out to you?
A: What I’ve learned is how much we can improve habitat and biodiversity in a relatively short time through field work such as planting native species and invasive removal. I’ve spent most of my life outdoors as much as possible but have always just looked at it like, it is what it is, so to speak. [For example, I used to think] a hillside of thorny brush is a great place to hunt, not so much thinking about it as a monoculture threatening native plant species and insect and animal species that rely on them.
Q: What do you want other people who may be interested in volunteering with the Conservancy to know?
A: As far as what I like, it’s just the work is rewarding, and the people are like-minded and very positive to be around. I enjoy engaging visitors to the preserves. I’ve learned a lot from them as well and met people that I know from other places. I would sum it up by saying that in such a divisive world, you never meet anyone who would say that they think this is a bad idea. Preserving open spaces is the one thing we can all agree upon.
Volunteer Gary Wenczel
Photo by Steve Mohr Jr.
Gary Wenczel is a work horse. He dedicates countless hours to whatever task is at hand, whether that is eliminating invasive plants or removing fallen trees to keep trails open. He is a Volunteer Land Steward we know we can call wherever help is needed, and he leads volunteer workdays, as well.
Q: Why do you volunteer for Lancaster Conservancy?
A: I moved to Lancaster County and discovered the Conservancy properties as a place to take my children into the outdoors. I appreciated the array of locations available to go on family walks and wanted to support the Conservancy in an effort to keep green spaces and natural areas available for my family and the community. The Conservancy staff and other volunteers are such a welcoming and supportive group that after the first workday, there was a sense of belonging and making a difference.
Q: What is something you’ve learned as a Conservancy volunteer that stands out to you?
A: Prior to volunteering I had no idea how destructive invasive species were and what damage they were doing to the ecosystem. Then I had the opportunity to see the difference removing these plants and allowing the native wildlife the opportunity to thrive could do. It makes all the fights with pulling multiflora rose worth the bloodshed.
Q: What do you want other people who may be interested in volunteering with the Conservancy to know?
A: Those considering volunteering should know I had no experience in helping until I showed up. Almost everyone out there has started and asked the same questions you have…Volunteers are all over the spectrum of backgrounds and abilities with everyone’s help equally appreciated. Oh, and once you pull multiflora rose, you will have a common bond with everyone else because you will never forget your first, last, or any other time you have, and neither will they.
Interested in volunteering with the Lancaster Conservancy? Learn more at lancasterconservancy.org/volunteer.
