When we go out on hitch we have the awesome opportunity of meeting and working with so many different people ranging from individuals that frequent the park to the park staff itself. And for my past hitch my crew and I had the pleasure of working with Geoffery Wood. Geoff is a seasoned DCR employee with many years of hard work put into Belle Isle Marsh Reservation (the site where the hitch was located). He is also a man whose work ethic and speed is rivaled by none other. Especially when one takes in account the fact that at the end of the this month he is retiring. The fact that he making certain that he is leaving the park in the best possible condition that he can, is to me, extremely admirable.
My favorite time ( and I’m pretty sure the majority of my crew’s as well) on our hitch was when Geoff gave us a tour of the meadow and explained to us how he manages it for biodiversity. The wealth of knowledge that he was able to communicate and share was astounding. And to think it was only a 30 minute tour. The one thing I wish that went differently was that I had a notebook to write down all of the information I could. Nonetheless, I was able to write down a few notes that I remembered when I returned to the campsite later that day.
All in all, we had a great experience renovating the boardwalk at Belle Isle Marsh and I’m happy that we were able to help Geoff get a portion of Belle Isle to look a little nicer right before he leaves.
