Bay Daily readers have heard me sing the praises of CBF volunteers before. I’m going to warble again, this time about one volunteer in particular.
The Jamestown 4-H Center operates an education facility on the banks of the James River just upstream from the Jamestown historical site in James City County, Va. The center has 400 feet of river frontage, much of which has been eroding and crumbling into the James for a long, long time. Unfortunately, the center has lacked the resources and manpower to do much about it.
Enter Ann Jurczyk, a former marketing professional, triathlete, and busy wife and mother of two teen-age girls who lives just outside Williamsburg. Last fall, Jurczyk had just participated in CBF’s VoiCeS Volunteers As Chesapeake Stewards) program aimed at volunteers who want a broader, deeper understanding of Chesapeake Bay issues. At the end of the series of VoiCeS classes, participants pledge to dedicate 40 hours to a community Bay-saving project or activity.
Jurczyk (above right with a grid rake) was inspired by a class presentation on living shorelines -- the use of native wetland grasses, shrubs, trees, even oysters, to stabilize eroding shorelines instead of hard wooden or concrete bulkheads. She called the presenter, NOAA Restoration Scientist Walter Priest, who tipped her off to the needed stabilization project along the James at the Jamestown 4-H Center. Priest knew that grant funds might be available soon that could pay for such a project, but there was no one to write a proposal or prepare the necessary drawings and site plans. Would Jurczyk take it on?
Jurczyk didn’t hesitate. While she’d never done anything like this before, she plunged into talks with experts at Virginia Institute of Marine Science, contractors, and permitting authorities; learned how to use a computer-assisted drawing program; and developed detailed estimates of costs, materials, and labor. She produced a grant proposal on time, submitted it to the Chesapeake Bay Trust (CBT), and last Thanksgiving was notified that CBT would fund the project for $92,500.
“It was a great learning experience,” she says, adding matter of factly, “If you really want to learn something, you have to do it.”
And Jurczyk is doing it all. Not content to win merely the earlier grant, she’s written a second proposal for $113,500 in funding and is taking a leadership role in ensuring the project is completed as planned. After contractors installed the stone breakwater just off shore and added 4,000 cubic feet of sand to the beach in January, she and Priest recently led some 25 volunteers to plant marsh grasses along the shoreline. The plantings of spartina and switch grass will establish a marsh that will halt erosion, provide homes for wildlife, and protect nearby geologically significant bluffs.
The living shoreline will also serve as an outdoor classroom and demonstration project for the more than 10,000 people who visit the Jamestown 4-H Center annually for conferences and classes.
I asked Jurczyk why she takes Bay volunteerism so seriously. She reflected on her lifelong affinity for the outdoors, her love of learning, and the many interesting people she’s gotten to know along the way.
“I had to ask many, many questions,” she said. “Everyone was generous with their time and expertise. Their support made me feel more connected to the community. And the VoiCeS program was invaluable. We learned how to make better choices and have a smaller impact on the environment.
“And although it’s a cliché, one person can make a difference.”
Indeed.
If you’d like to make a difference, visit CBF’s website and check out volunteer opportunities.
By Chuck Epes
Photos by Andrea Moran
wow. This is just heart warming. I hope you will inspire more people and spread the goodness.
Posted by: wench costume | 05/17/2010 at 02:28 PM