Natural Lands - The Magazine of Natural Lands Fall/Winter 2019, Issue 155 | Page 11
NAT U R AL LAND S
The sun is just beginning to rise above the trees as Natural
Lands volunteer Carol Dailey pushes her scull away from
the dock at the Whitemarsh Boat Club in Conshohocken.
Rush hour is underway along I76 but the sound of the
traffic is muted by the trees growing along the banks of
the Schuylkill River. Carol focuses on the birdsong and the
rhythmic sound of her oars dipping in and out of the water.
“This gigantic urban river is such an amazing place to be
outdoors,” she shares. “The swallows swooping around in
the morning, the bats at dusk... it’s such a pleasure.”
Carol describes herself as a “grown-up Girl Scout” who is
most at home in nature. About 15 years ago, she rediscov-
ered paddling and the joys of being on the water. “I loved
canoeing as a kid, but I grew up and forgot all about it. But
then, in my 40s, I hurt my knee and couldn’t cycle like I had
been. I got back in a boat and all the fun came rushing back
to me. I was hooked once again.”
Carol’s love of water sports has taken her around the
world: Dragon boating in Prague and Budapest, racing a
cayuco through the Panama Canal, and rowing the canals
of Venice at the annual Vogalonga regatta. Home base is the
Schuylkill River where she’s rowed for the past five years.
But these days she makes room in her busy schedule to
volunteer on dry land with Natural Lands’ Force of Nature®
program. She attended a birding tour of Stoneleigh shortly
after the garden opened last year. That visit was like dipping
her toe into the deep water of Natural Lands; it didn’t take
long for Carol to dive in.
. FALL/W INT E R 20 1 9
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In just a few short months, Carol has planted trees at
Gwynedd Preserve and parks in Lower Merion, installed
water bars along the trails at Saunders Woods Preserve, and
helped out at events. She spends quite
a bit of time at Stoneleigh, digging in
with the horticulture team to pull in-
vasives, mulch, and plant. And she al-
ways has a smile for the garden guests,
remembering her first visit there.
Carol is a “go big or go home” kind
of person. She decided to go big at
home and has begun transforming
her own property, implementing all
she’s learned from her volunteer training. “I’ve tackled proj-
ects at my house that I never would have had the courage
or knowledge to do before Force of Nature. It’s so cool to
me how, by just planting native species, I can increase
ecological biodiversity in my own back yard.”
Whether on the river or on a preserve, Carol gives herself
wholeheartedly. “Her enthusiasm is contagious,” says Deb-
bie Beer, Natural Lands’ director of volunteer engagement.
“When I first retired, I thought I’d better be careful with
how many different activities I got into. I didn’t know how
much I could juggle. But Natural Lands is something that
will always be a part of my life and I’ll be a volunteer forever.
I love it.” W
For more information on our Force of Nature program, go to natlands.org/
forceofnature
diving in.