On Saturday, a particularly hot day, the Nature Park had a booth at Richmond's City Centre Celebration. Our exhibit was on urban wildlife and we had a number of activities and leaflets about the animals we share our city with, for example raccoons, skunks, coyotes, crows and squirrels. Many people think we have ostriches as well.
I was very grateful for the help of our board members, and it made me reflect that we have had quite a change on the Nature Park Society's board this year. We have welcomed newcomers, but we are also losing two members who have been brilliant supporters of the Nature Park and its programs.
Cat Morris has been with us for (I think - I leave room to stand corrected) two years and is currently VP. Cat is leaving for a promoted position within the company she works for. We are certainly going to miss her enthusiasm and interest, especially for our Halloween 'Wild Things' event and the Christmas festivities, not to mention the Salmonfest parade and quite simply being there to help out at events such as the Children's festival.
Mona Janson has been with us even longer, over four years. The artwork that Mona has done for us over the years has been exceptional, and I truly mean exceptional. Mona is going to live in a community where there are a lot of both artisans and artists and I sincerely hope that her work will be recognised for its outstanding quality.
Like Cat, Mona has helped at numerous events, including Saturday's City Centre Celebration. She too has a great enthusiasm for nature and for our Halloween and Christmas festivals, which brings me to talk about another side to her art and creativity. Mona has made an incredible wardrobe of nature costumes for us; there must be thousands of dollars of donated time and expertise tied up in these. We guard them jealously, using them only for our events and school programs. I will be featuring examples of Mona's work on this blog just as soon as I can access the picture posting facility again.
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