It is fitting that here we are in MARCH! already, of 2024, and this being my FIRST blog post of the 2024 year (I am a little lagging) is about the magic nature holds.

It is funny how slowly I am moving through our Nanticoke River Watershed Conservancy Community read and yet, this particular book, Divining,

I find I do not want to end. The powerful connections made to trees and our lives, and what we take fro granted, feels as if I need a long period of time between chapters to have the details and connections settle in. It is worth it taking the same slow approach as trees do when they grow and enrich our communities.

I was pulled in to Chapter 12 with the ties to an object we see on the ground all the time (me, I notice more when walking my dogs) tied to trees I was unaware of or forgot who they belonged to, (referring to a tree as a person seems pretty normal to me). to the fact that as a librarian, I did not realize there was a children’s book naming trees (how did I miss that?)

I love there is something unique and creative in every chapter that stands out and isn’t that what we find in nature? Coming off humbled from a very successful #DoMore24DE campaign, I realize how lucky we are to be in a state where we have so many passionate, important, and powerful nonprofits that serve our communities, that we can support each other through events like #DoMore24DE, and the fact we have so many generous and passionate individuals that truly care about their environmental community. I for one want to do a better job of keeping tabs with them all year long, and not just once a year.

Youth, creativity, the environment, wise generational experts in our community, and literacy all intertwine. I continue to find ways to take all of these and combine into a ball, similar to the one the sweetgum tree drops each year before growing anew. That seems a better way of measuring our success and growth over time in a community. I am grateful for the many people still interested in making sure we live in an enriching community.