Happy lucky clovers to you, docents!
News
Our Bees are Back!- Our volunteer beekeeper Jeff Perez installed a brand new colony of bees in our brand new observation hive. This new hive should make it easier to see the queen (who is bigger than all the other bees), so be sure to have all adult and child visitors hunt for her. If you ever get questions about bees you can’t answer or have questions yourself, please let us know and we’ll help educate you.
Upcoming Docent events
March docent enrichment – Skills Workshop – Monday, March 19, 10am-1pm
ALL DOCENTS/HOSTS/STORYTELLERS SHOULD ATTEND! We will have a special presentation by Mike Merritt, Interpretive Ranger at Ano Nuevo State Park. We are planning small group
discussions and sharing about our interpretive skills. This is the most important
enrichment of the year and we are excited to have all of you (Neary, Sandhills,
Ohlone, Animal, Art of Nature, Storytime and Hosting docents) be a part of it!!
Volunteer Appreciation Week outing to the Seymour Center – NEW! –
Wednesday, April 18, 3:30-5pm
Thank you for everything you do to help connect people with nature and inspire
stewardship! In honor of National Volunteer Appreciation Week, we’d like to say
thank you to all our committed volunteers in a special way. All active volunteers are
invited to attend a free tour of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center, led by Visitor
Programs Manager, Chris Reeves. Please meet at the Seymour Center, 100 Shaffer
Road, by 3:30pm. A carpool will be meeting at the Museum of Natural History at
3:00, and departing by 3:15pm. We only have room for 20 people on this tour, so
please RSVP to Jen@santacruzmuseums.org.
Bats at Neary Lagoon – date confirmed! – Monday, April 23 6:45pm-dark
Our April enrichment will be at Neary Lagoon with bat biologist Fred Frick. We’ll learn about our local flying mammals as the sun goes down.
Sandhills training – NEW DATE!!! Monday, April 23, 2pm-4pm at Randall Morgan Preserve
Our spring field season is approaching (first field trip is May 1) and we’re
excited about our geology/fossils/restoration field program. Join us for our
spring training and be a part of this fun and growing program!! Email Zack at
(sandhills@santacruzmuseums.org) so we know how many folks to expect.
Raccoon by Jenny Parks
Art of Nature school tour training – Monday, April 30, 10am-1pm
Through the month of May, the Museum invites school classes to come view our Art of Nature exhibit and participate in a special docent-led illustration and art program. Please plan to come to the training even if you’ve done the programs before, we’re making a few changes this year.Email Deb (Deborah@santacruzmuseums.org) so we know how many folks to expect.
Docent cabinets – Reminder to take time after your programs to put all artifacts in the correct bins. Let Liz or Deb know if anything needs repair or upgrade. Thanks!
Programs
Animal and Ohlone Tours- There are still plenty of tours in April that need docents. Stop by the Museum or check out the online calendar and contact Liz to sign up.
Storytime –Don’t forget about the amazing resources we have to use with these programs: real skulls, the Ohlone dolls and artifacts, puppets, wooden figures, and live animals! If anyone wants to do a program on snakes, we have a volunteer who has offered to bring in a live one…keep signing up and keep the great energy
flowing! http://www.santacruzmuseums.org/docents/
Hosting – What are you doing next Saturday? Sign up for upcoming shifts! We will be having another hosting orientation on March 19, 3:30-5:30. If you are a current docent for another program and would like to learn about how to host on Saturdays, you are welcome to come!
Volunteer opportunities – Feeling like doing more? Here are the upcoming dates
when we need help:
- Garden workday – March 24, 10am-noon. Join us at the Museum for an afternoon of light work in the garden. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about native plants, pollinators, and xeriscaping. Families and folks of all ages are welcome, volunteer waivers will be signed before work begins.
- Exhibit Set-up – April 2nd. The Art of Nature show comes to the Museum and we will need lots of volunteers to help set up the exhibit. Shifts are 10-12 and 1-3.
Feel free to post comments on this Whale Spout blog. It’s a great way for us to
communicate as a community. Again, thank you, docents, we love you. See you
soon!!
