The Wenatchee Naturalist mission is to cultivate awareness, understanding, and stewardship of the Wenatchee River region by developing an active corps of well-informed community volunteers. This next set of stories features members of the class of 2019 who have jumped into community engagement with their class projects.
![Patrick Bodell](https://i0.wp.com/www.wenatcheenaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Patrick-Bodell.jpeg?resize=432%2C800&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.wenatcheenaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/WenatcheeUrbanBirdRouteBodell.png?resize=464%2C616&ssl=1)
Patrick Bodell is the owner of Wenatchee’s Wild Birds Unlimited Store, and his class project is to establish a new urban bird walk program. The route is in Wenatchee’s densest neighborhood, between Methow and Lincoln Parks. Patrick’s goal is to engage a new audience with nature around them and to use eBird as a tool. He plans to partner with class member, Elisa Lopez, who is the staff lead for Team Naturaleza!, and to coordinate with the opening of the newly re-built Methow Kiwanis Park, a partnership between the Trust for Public Lands and the City of Wenatchee.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.wenatcheenaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/WildBirdsUnlimitedLogo.png?resize=254%2C222&ssl=1)
![Team Naturaleza!](https://i0.wp.com/www.wenatcheenaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/TeamNaturalezalogo.png?resize=229%2C181&ssl=1)
![Elisa Lopez](https://i0.wp.com/www.wenatcheenaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ElizaLopez.png?resize=800%2C683&ssl=1)
Elisa Lopez took what she learned about shrub-steppe ecology and developed a new natural history outing for local families. She planned and guided a November Team Naturaleza! “ family nature hike Up and Over Saddle Rock.” This four-mile hike served 17 people and 50% were new to the program. Despite the dreary weather with ground fog, Elisa’s crew were all smiling broadly in the summit photo.
![Team Naturaleza! on Saddle Rock, Nov. 2019](https://i0.wp.com/www.wenatcheenaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ElisaLopez1.png?resize=610%2C458&ssl=1)
![Stuart Smith](https://i0.wp.com/www.wenatcheenaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/IMG_0484.jpg?resize=800%2C600&ssl=1)
Stuart Smith recently retired and relocated to Wenatchee, bringing along his passion for GIS mapping. For his class project, he created a StoryMap for the Jacobson Preserve, easily accessed from a smart phone. It is designed to integrate a map with photos to introduce a user to sights along the trail and is available on a smart phone or computer. Stuart has already started volunteering with Chelan-Douglas Land Trust by offering his technical advice to improve CDLT’s mapping with tools like the StoryMap.
![Jacobson Trail Story Map](https://i0.wp.com/www.wenatcheenaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/StuartSmith2.png?resize=450%2C800&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.wenatcheenaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/IMG_0458.jpg?resize=800%2C600&ssl=1)
Bob Doolittle presented his “big idea” to launch a Wenatchee Valley Volunteer information website hub as a new non-profit organization. It will feature a comprehensive online catalogue of local volunteer needs for a wide array of organizations. Bob has been busy getting the technical side up and running, thanks to his professional expertise as a computer programmer, and he’s been making the rounds to community organizations to pitch the concept and to recruit board members. Stay tuned!