One of the newer committees that volunteers can be involved with is the Education Committee. While only three years old, the committee hit the ground running. One of their first projects, a Tree Guide/Activity Book for children, was written using the Kansas State Board of Education's Science Standards. An immediate hit with teachers and kids, the booklet was honored to be selected to be used by the Kansas Department of Education's Summer Outdoor Exploration Program and is frequently used for school field trips or just individual families.
    Through the Education Committee, the Arboretum became the first organization in Kansas to partner with the National Phenology Movement and develop two of its trails for sites on which patrons can become Citizen Scientists and record observations of trees and plants on the NPN site for use by climatology scientists.
    The fledgling Docent program was initiated last year. Volunteers can go through a training process and then sign up to be hosts in one of three gardens: the Monet, the Erickson, or the Medicine Wheel/Wildflower. Arboretum guests were extremely positive about their appreciation for this program and found the Docents to be informative and helpful.
    A current project is the development of a booklet entitled "Our Favorite Trees," a self-guided tour of twenty-four trees along the walks in the botanical section of the Arboretum. As people walk the gardens they can view and read about the selected trees' unique qualities and interesting facts. This book should be available by early summer, but the information will be available Arbor Day for volunteers to give tours.
    The committee is very involved in the planning for the future Challenge Trail, a walk which will be accessible and educational for persons of all abilities. Preliminary planning has been taking place with the help of the Blue Valley Student Services Support Staff and the Rehabilitation Institute of Kansas City. There is no other trail in existence exactly like this concept, so we are extremely excited about it and hope to gain funding soon for its planning.
    It is the Education Committee which developed the fun and fascinating offerings in the Visitor's Center on the nights of the various Moon Walks. The activities and displays were very well received by children from 5 to 95.
    The committee is always in need of additional volunteers to add a fresh perspective and to share the load. If the above projects sounded interesting and fun, you are welcome to come join us. We meet on the third Monday of every month at 3:00 p.m. in the EEVC. Contact the Volunteer Coordinators or Bob Lane at RlConsult@aol.com for further information.

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