Amazing volunteers came out in force for Earth Week 2021, April 18-24, at Lost River Cave. Native flora and fauna rejoice! Read on to get an Earth Week recap and check out some pics of our amazing volunteers taken throughout the week.
-Once-ler, The Lorax. Dr. Suess
We had a wonderful Earth Week 2021 with over 150 people and 14 sponsors who cared a lot! It was a great week to experience not only what can nature do for us, but what we can do for nature in return for all that it gives us. Volunteers accrued a total of over 360 cumulative volunteer hours. They removed wintercreeper vine, an invasive species, giving native trees and plants like ones that have been so carefully cultivated in the meadow habitat over the last 3+ years a chance to thrive!
Under sunshine and rain clouds, volunteers were with us all week long making a difference and learning about the benefits of native plants for our local wildlife. They were overheard laughing, talking, and generally enjoying time in nature with friends while they pulled, clipped, cut, and cleared wintercreeper and other brush that was blocking out native growth.
This year, for the first time ever, we were delighted to have Daily Nature Programs for our volunteers and community during Earth Week and they were a hit! We offered different nature programs each day, including a bird hike, nature journaling, wildflower bingo, forest bathing by hammock, Yoga in the Cave, a wellness hike, and making upcycled t-shirt bags. We are so grateful for EnSafe, Inc., CrowdSouth, the Warren County Conservation District, Fruit of the Loom, Inc., and Merrell for sponsoring these programs that our staff loved writing and designing for the public to enjoy. We hope to continue offering a few of these programs throughout the year, so we can connect more people in our community to nature.
A big thank you goes out to our many volunteer groups that came out: Scout groups, fraternity members from Delta Tau Delta, WKU ROTC, groups like the SOKY Wild Ones the WKU Wildlife and Conservation Club, businesses like General Motors and Starbucks, individuals who inspired others to join in, the children and parents who wanted to get out from behind a screen and get outdoors!
Special thanks goes to Kathee Morgeson. With her spirit and determination to bring native plants to our park for all to enjoy, she has been a rock for our volunteer programs and for being a source to inspire more young people to help conserve the outdoors during Earth Week and beyond.
Earth Week is not just this one great week in April. Every week is Earth Week at Lost River Cave. We continue to make connections through these experiences and work to restore the park’s beautiful 72 acres. Years of providing field trips have served the mission to connect children to nature and have fostered an appreciation for nature in so many young students. Eventually, many students return to volunteer. If we’re lucky, they help to inspire more young people to have a green impact on their community.
Lost River Cave was founded by volunteers who care a whole awful lot. And if you do, we hope you’ll join us next year or check out one of our other upcoming volunteer opportunities! Help us bring conservation back into the conversation and inspire the next generation to do so, too.
Keep scrolling to check out photos from the week, and see our wonderful Earth Week 2021 sponsors!
Thank You to Our Earth Week 2021 Sponsors!
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