Nature Center Day 1

Day 1

The first Wednesday that we got to go to the Nature Center of Fort Worth was September 26. I think that I can speak for all of us in saying that we had no idea what to expect. Were we going to be cutting down trees, planting flowers, trimming bushes? We were all finally about to find out. It was earlier in the day when it rained, so we expected the center to be a little bit muddy, but I had been on campus all day not thinking about grabbing mud boots earlier. 

We found out when we all got there we were going to help out with the greenhouse. It was great that we all got to work together as a group instead of being split up because you could really see the progress at the end. Some people were tasked with bringing logs and sticks over to the worksite to fill holes in the ground, and others were tasked with digging out the holes. I got pulled away by one of the three main workers to help cut tarp and nail it into the ground behind the greenhouse. 

I was not prepared for how difficult it all would be. The tarp was heavy and required two people to cut and pull it through the mud to bring it around behind the greenhouse. Once we laid it out, the wind kept wanting to take it away from us, so our first task was to nail the first two corners down to keep it from flying away. Next, we took the nails and hammers and nailed every foot with another nail to make sure the tarp was secure to the ground. The challenge was some parts of the ground underneath the tarp had rocks built deep into the soil, so we had to adjust our process to accommodate for the rocks. Other parts of the ground were so muddy and wet from the rain earlier in the day that it was difficult to gauge how deep the nail truly was in the ground. We had to replace some nails with others and put two in one spot on occasion to make sure it was perfect. 

One of the best parts of the day was seeing how much progress we made. After finishing up the tarp around the greenhouse, we went back to check on the rest of the group. They had all already finished digging the four sides and hacking at the rocks in the ground. It was incredible to see how strong and passionate people were about digging rocks out of the ground. After looking around at each other, we felt so accomplished. It’s one thing to feel sweaty and dehydrated and extremely tired, but it’s another to feel excited about being to help and make a difference in the community of Fort Worth. 

Since not a lot of places in Fort Worth are considered “hiking” places or “nature” centers, it was great to feel part of a greater good. It was amazing to see how big the nature center is and the bison that the workers take care of. Three people are tasked with protecting all of that land, and I’m proud that our class can be the extra set of hands once a week to help them out. They deserve a lot of praise and thanks for keeping the Nature Center a beautiful place.