I completed my volunteer work at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center, since I have moved back to my hometown. A lot of people think that living in the 4th largest city iu the nation means that you do not havee acces to nature, but that is not true. We have tons of parks and beautiful nature center that educate people about the environment like HANC.
I did a variety of thing at the nature center, like teaching girl scounts about flowers and its biology, and guide hikes around the property. I also helped identify non-native and invasive plant species in the property that will be removed in the future. To do this we needed to collect data, what the plant was, if it was common or rare in the space we found it, GPS location, and so on that will be sent to the state for their records.
Nature is all around us no matter where you are, you just have to be aware to see it. Living in this city is what brought me closer with nature, learning from the large amount of resources available to me and the diversity of my city gave me a variety of knowlege about our nature world. I love my city and I love the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center for its work and for the joy it brings into my life to be a volunteer there.
Attached are a few pictures of the Arboretum for you to see the native and natural landscape of Houston, Tx.
Enjoy!
Shelby Thibodeaux
