This week began on Sunday with setting up for the Juneteenth event featuring Dudley Edmondson. Dudley’s profound connection with nature and his mission to inspire people of color to embrace the outdoors was truly inspiring. His speech resonated with me on a personal level, coming from an Indian family that encouraged me to explore the outdoors. I felt a deep gratitude for having had that opportunity and the lasting impact it has had on my life and career. Someday I hope to inspire other people of color to connect with mother nature as much as Dudley does.

After helping with the setup, I joined the guided bird walk with Dudley Edmondson and Nicole Jackson. It was fascinating to learn about bird species I had never heard of before and to see Dudley effortlessly identify birds by their songs. This experience deepened my appreciation for birdwatching, as I had never tried birding before I worked here. Later in the week, I wrote a blog recapping the event, which will be published on Monday, and created a social media post featuring some of the photos I took during the event.

Most of the week was dedicated to working on my sponsorship project, and I am pleased to say I am almost finished with the first draft. Additionally, I had the opportunity to attend a board meeting with various members who support the Grange Insurance Audubon Center. I learned that the City of Columbus isn’t as involved in supporting the center as they should be. I also shadowed my boss during a meeting with County Administrator Kenneth Wilson at the Franklin County Government Center. This experience taught me how challenging it can be to convey the importance of a mission you deeply believe in, especially when working with government entities that have numerous priorities. However, Kenneth seemed receptive to our message and provided us with some helpful contacts.

On Juneteenth, the center remained open, and I learned how to set up the activity cart, which we take outside the center to engage visitors with fun activities. This time, we focused on birdwatching, but the heat kept many people from stopping by. An exciting moment came when we received a call from a visitor about an American White Pelican sighting. Initially skeptical, we went down to the boat ramp to check it out, and sure enough, it was indeed a White Pelican! This was a rare sighting, as these birds are typically found near the ocean and are not common in Ohio. I captured some videos and made an informative social media post about this unique occurrence.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=7512745862170599

Another interesting event happened that same day. A visitor used the microwave in the staff break room without anyone noticing, and unfortunately, she heated something up incorrectly, causing a lot of smoke. The fire department was called, but she left before we could find out what happened. The building smelled like burnt popcorn for the rest of the day, and we are now waiting for the microwave to be fixed. This incident made meal prepping my lunches for the week a bit challenging.

Today, I had the amazing opportunity to facilitate the “Let’s Go Birding” guided bird walk event for Pride Month. While I didn’t lead the walk, I helped set up the coffee cart, greeted and signed in participants, and handed out free merchandise at the end. I had written a media advisory about the event earlier in the week and sent it out to many LGBTQ organizations in Columbus. We had 21 people signed up, the largest number for a bird walk in a long time, and about ten attendees showed up. It was a large and enthusiastic group, and we all had a great time. I took some pictures during the walk and connected with fellow birders who had more knowledge than I did, which was a fantastic learning experience. We tried to spot the pelican again, but it was gone, likely back on its regular migration route.

This week was packed with enriching experiences, from engaging with community members at the Juneteenth event to learning more about bird species and improving my skills in communication and event facilitation.