Volunteer Spotlight: Barb Morson

What does it take to run a successful organization? In a word, people. People who share the mission, and a vision of where the organization is going and how to get there. It takes a multitude of people who care enough to give their time, money and wisdom.

Barb Morson knows what it takes for CLT because she’s done many of the jobs that make it so. Her experience volunteering on a variety of committees plus her service on the board as Secretary showed her how conserving and stewarding land relies on the interconnected work of staff and volunteers. Sometimes Barb contributes by attending a meeting and asking great questions. Other times, she shows up, gloves on, ready to plant trees or bushwhack through heavy brush to flag a new trail. Always, her infectious laugh and penchant for finding just the right poem for the occasion, has endeared her to those she works with and energizes other volunteers.

And where does that drive to see CLT be successful come from? A lifetime of caring about the environment starting with a childhood exploring islands off the coast of Maine. Later, her work consulting on toxics and hazardous waste cleanup helped her understand the need to conserve these ecologically rich places and made her want to immerse herself in a great organization that was doing just that.

There are many things that keep her involved with CLT, but foremost is her heart’s connection with the land itself—the wild places and the denizens that inhabit them. She enjoys knowing she’s part of a team that works every day to ensure there will be wild places long into the future. She also loves the opportunity to be out in nature with others who share her love of the land.

As the organization moves forward, Barb is hopeful about connecting our broader community with the environment, that kids, newly exposed to the natural world around them, will gain a sense of wonder and love for the outdoors. That they, also, will be driven to help ensure that wildlife and people will continue to have safe places to roam.

from “When I am among the trees” (from 3^rd stanza)

Around me the trees stir in their leaves
And call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”

From Devotions, The selected Poems of Mary Oliver, Penguin Press, New York, 2017