Wild in the City Open House Recap

As an experiment to educate folks about local Refuges and drum up new volunteers for the upcoming season, we took our show on the road as a Refuge Complex/Family to the Cascade Park Community Library in Vancouver.  Stewards, Friends, volunteers and Service Staff filled the community room and chatted with library visitors about restoration projects, archaeology, culture, recreational opportunities, native wildlife, volunteering, and our great support groups. We had bird bags to color that engaged whole families, lots of neat natural and replica items to touch and interact with, bird costumes where kids could get their pictures taken in front of a large refuge scene (constructed by Sarah Hill!), refreshments and more.

Folks, I just can’t say how happy I was to see people streaming in before we were even set up!  Family’s small and large, singles, couples, people of all ages truly representing the diversity that is now the Vancouver community. Some came in because they heard about the event, others wandered in from the very busy community center and library, or because they were headed in to check out books or attend a story time. Some even stayed an hour or more as they interacted with people, did the activities, ate, and chatted some more. The volunteers in attendance were amazing at welcoming people and making them feel comfortable even when they were unsure of what they were walking into. Everyone was amazed afterward about how many people were interested in volunteering whether they came in asking for that information or were led that way through conversation.

-Josie Finley, Park Ranger (Environmental Education and Volunteer Programs Coordinator)