A recent article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Seed Vault Holds Plan to Save World’s Crops” is apropos for our society today.  Dwindling diversity is a threat to both our food crops and also our organizations. While many people are comfortable with uniformity, that uniformity in the end will eventually doom the organization.

More than once I have been told to “stay with my own people.”  Yes, while I too may be more comfortable “with my own people”, staying in that small circle does nothing to help me improve diversity in other organizations.  I will say, from experience, sometimes there does come a time when leaving an organization, that does not want to change, is the best action.

Telling people they have to change their mindset has not reached the goal of diversity in organizations or how we care for our environment.  The demonstrations and sit-ins of the 60’s for peace and to save our environment had little long-term impact on today’s current situation.  Educating organization leadership, getting their “buy-in”, and then implementing on-going long-term training for the rest of the organization will make the difference we need.  Help be the change for diversity, both in our environment and our society.

The diversity of genetics within a hive, along with the diversity of nectar and pollen sources help provide a strong future for our favorite pollinator, the honey bee.

Grow your strength and become that 21^st Century leader by attending our conference in October.

https://www.croptrust.org/our-work/svalbard-global-seed-vault/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/plan-to-save-worlds-crops-lives-in-norwegian-bunker-11590744601

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Here are some activities to help keep boredom at bay:

Help out the local health industry (but call ahead to make sure they can utilize your creations) : https://www.joann.com/ also read: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2020/03/20/calling-all-people-who-sew-and-make-you-can-help-solve-2020-n95-type-mask-shortage/

“Visit” The Van Eyck exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent. See the artwork before, during and after restoration. http://closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be/

Learn a new skill. Sites such as Bluprint, Joann’s, and Michaels have many free projects available on their websites.

Boredom, hah! Who has time for that?

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Someone I text with mentioned that life at home was quiet. I’m not sure what that means – I have socks on the needles, audio books on the phone, bee equipment drying between coats of paint, piles of fabric cleaned and sorted and ready to be sewn into a new bedcover, and a to-do list that keeps reinventing itself.

The local public library has added more audio books and book downloads to their offerings due to the school closures. Check out what free on-line resources your library has to offer.

Here are some sites/articles that can help focus you and the family on productive, positive activities.

www.xerces.org/wings

stories.audible.com

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/feature/on-coronavirus-lockdown-the-top-online-museum-and-art-tours

https://www.si.edu/OpenAccess

The post Keeping Busy- Part II appeared first on Lead For Pollinators.

Ingredients:

2-3 sheets of newspaper, shred by hand

3 cup measuring cup

Seeds – about 1 T of assorted, or choose specific types for each batch

Blender, paper towels, sieve

How to:

Place shredded newspaper in measuring cup.

Fill cup with water until it covers the paper. Let it sit for about 15 minutes.

Place mixture in blender and mix until pureed.

Put sieve in sink and pour puree into it. Let it sit and drain until the consistency of a wet bread dough.

.

Rip off a tablespoon size blob of the dough, add a pinch of the seeds, and roll into a ball. Press firmly the ball into silicone mold.

Sponge off excess water, and pop the seed balm out. Let dry.

These seed balms are very light when they dry. Nestle into the soil and water. Why not plant these in a design in your garden. Have separate seed balms for red, white and blue flowers? A flag design in your garden.

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Someone once said that a volunteer is just someone waiting to be told what to do.  I volunteer for some interesting groups, and I must admit, most of them need to brush up on not only volunteer training, but also how to interact with volunteers. 

Let me share with you a scenario.  Organization C, is having their annual festival at a 15 acre park in the heart of the city.  The festival requires volunteers to re-create famous historical people from the city’s past.  The only missive the volunteers receive is who they are supposed to represent and the date and time of the event.  That.Is.All.  So, I as a dutiful volunteer look on-line to see if there are volunteer guidelines on their website.  No.  There was also no follow-up emails with more information from the organization. 

I made a few phone calls and gathered more details.  Important details such as

• where to park my vehicle
• how long the re-creation presentations were supposed to last
• how many presentations would be required
• where exactly in the park would I be providing the presentation
• whether or not I needed to bring my own water
• if the weather forecast was unfavorable for an outdoor event would there be a raindate
• how would I be contacted if the event was postponed, etc.

While talking with other newbie volunteers, they too had been uncomfortable not knowing many of the important details.  The coordinator of the program was inundated with phone calls from the new volunteers. The coordinator was stressed, the volunteers were stressed, all due to a lack of consideration regarding the needs of the volunteers and the event.

For all volunteers, from the people bringing refreshments to the committee chairs, simple data sheets that provide the support information the volunteers will help ensure your volunteers remain committed to the organization, and reflect will reflect a positive attitude towards your organization, the events and beyond.

Is your organization suffering from high levels of volunteer churn?  LEAD for Pollinators can work with your organization to help ensure a sustainable future to support your agricultural community.  Call us for consultation regarding: Volunteer Management, Strategic Planning, Board Member Training, Nominating Committee Development, Constitution and By-Laws Review, and other educational and board development support for your association. 

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We have all experienced how leadership can make or break any association.  Here are a few leadership styles that may not seem to negatively impact a club, but are sure signs of future problems.

President for Life

You have seen those “president for life”(PfL) leaders.  Although they say they are unable to get anyone to step up and become president, the truth is that those leaders purposely do not spend the time training the next group of leaders.  PfLs feel they are invaluable to the organization and that no one can care for the members the way they have done for these past many years.  In fact, this type of leadership throttles the growth of the club, puts a kibosh on anyone wanting to become a leader and bring a new perspective to the group, and diminishes the effectiveness of the organization.  PfL leadership uses the club to reinforce their own sense of value.  They act as though managing the club is like working a magician’s black box – only they know the secret to managing the association.  The club devolves into “so and so’s” club, no longer truly belonging to the members.

Placeholder

These leaders are basically warming the bench and the club will “fail to thrive” until someone else steps in to help the club.  Hopefully club members will see the need for a true leader, and during the next election, leaders will emerge and be elected to office.  I have been in clubs with placeholder leaders, and I appreciate the fact that at least the person(s) stepped up to fill a vacancy, rather than letting the club not have any leadership in place that year.  If your club has such a placeholder, it is the responsibility of the board and membership to support that person, and develop a nominating committee to ensure that a qualified person is nominated for future years.

Musical Chairs

This is actually a just a group of friends who maintain club leadership by trading spots within the club on a regular basis.  The President becomes the Treasurer, the VP becomes the Secretary, the Treasurer becomes the VP, Secretary becomes the President, and then the following year or so they switch positions again.  Similar to the President for Life, the Musical Chair leadership blocks entry into the board by keeping club leadership between friends.

Do you recognize any of these styles in any organizations in which you volunteer, or is your organization dealing with other critical issues?  LEAD for Pollinators can work with your organization to help ensure a sustainable future to support your agricultural community.  Call us for consultation regarding: Strategic Planning, Board Member Training, Nominating Committee Development, Constitution and By-Laws Review, and other educational and board development support for your association.

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