A part of History

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We spent the first half of the week back at Bushy Park. We were able to finish the trail we began in April on our last visit. Maybe it is the close quarters of the cabin that inspire deep conversation, but we got into a heated debate over some of the comments made by the man who runs Bushy Park. He is about 70 years old and seems to feel that women can't do the kind of work that men can. It is frustrating because he makes these comments in the midst of us doing the work that he thinks is a man's job. My aunt warned me before my trip here that I may experience some of that attitude here. It is frustrating and I hope that GVN will speak to him if they are going to continue bringing volunteers to Bushy Park. I guess he is just an old farmer who has not changed with the times.
The whole reason we were there was to assist with the ceremony for the closing of the fence. They have built a predator fence around the park that keeps the non-native pests out and allows the forest and the native bird species protection. It is a new experiment they are beginning in the country to attempt to preserve the native flora and fauna which has suffered so much due to introduction of non-native species. The governor general (the representative of the queen), Dame Silvia was in attendance along with various media. It was nice to be part of such a big event, but the trip was frustrating due to the aforementioned situation, the cold weather (lots of rain on Tuesday), and the waiting around until they found us something to do. I think this will be my last time at Bushy Park because I will conveniently plan a trip elsewhere if it shows up on the agenda again.

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