A packrat den in a rock wall, stuffed with burro droppings, cactus pieces, and various vegetation, helps us explain to our winter visitors how we became involved volunteering with Denver’s Museum of Natural History.
As naturalists
Moonlight Stroll
One of our most popular programs at Imperial National Wildlife Refuge is the Moonlight Stroll. Once a month, since winter of 2006, we’ve led groups of 20 visitors up a remote arroyo, guided by the light of the full moon.
The Weather Snake
Although not one of my favorite activities, appearing on television to promote Imperial National Wildlife Refuge and our programs has been necessary at times over the past few years. During these appearances, we include the snakes and occasionally some other critters, as well as a few skulls from our collection.
In a Flash
Even though rain was forecast, the thought of a flash flood was far from our minds. Cloud cover broke to reveal strips of blue sky before Chuck and I met hikers signed up for our Wednesday morning interpretive hike at Imperial National Wildlife Refuge north of Yuma, Arizona, the day before Thanksgiving.
Beginning Work
Living and meshing with others is one aspect of volunteer life on a refuge. The other is work.
More Opportunities
As our first season at Imperial National Wildlife Refuge progressed, we discovered more interpretive opportunities. Sue McDonald drove us down Red Cloud Mine Road, past the Painted Desert Trail, to what one volunteer had named “The Bee Wash” after a pocket of bees he’d observed nesting in a crevice of the rock wall.