Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
One of the things that makes Great Parks such an amazing organization to work for is the dedication to its mission statement: To preserve and protect natural resources and to provide outdoor reaction and education in order to enhance the quality of life for present and future generations. Every day I go to work, I always try to keep this statement in my mind.
However, it’s sometimes easy to forget that there is more than just my own department working hard to ensure park guests have a great experience every time they visit. The best way it has been explained to me is that all of our departments are like pastures on the same farm. We all work towards the same goal of a successful farm, but we don’t always see outside our pasture and beyond our fence to see what everyone else is doing. I know I often come to work and I am so focused on what I have to do that day in order to help the Winton Woods Operations team be successful that I sometimes overlook other departments and the work they are doing to make this an amazing place to visit.
The old apiary had become outdated and was no longer functioning as a safety barrier for the guest from the bees or enjoyable viewing area.
Recently, I had the opportunity to step outside the Operations’ pasture and take part in a collaborative effort at Parky’s Farm to restore the bee apiary. (For those of you that didn’t know, myself included, we have bee hives at Great Parks!) The apiary is an enclosed space around the hives with viewing windows for people to see the bees up close in their habitat, but still have a barrier for safety. It was originally built by some of our amazing volunteers, and was in desperate need of a facelift.
Every spring, the hardworking staff and volunteers at Parky’s Farm puts on programming that teaches the public about these pollinators and all of the awesome work they do in our environment. With bee populations around the world declining, there has never been a more important time to teach people about bees and what they do for us.
Young visitors attend a public program about bees at Parky’s Farm
Working together with Parky’s Farm, Winton Woods Operations team designed and constructed a new apiary that will provide guests with not only greater safety but a more enjoyable visit overall. It was a great project to work on, and it helped me to better understand how other departments contribute to the overall mission of Great Parks. While we might be in different pastures, we are all working to make Great Parks of Hamilton County an amazing place to visit.
Max Group, Operations, Winton Woods