Fond Staff Memories
Youth and Family Education Team
A fond farewell to Olivia! Photo by Bailey PriceThis spring, we said “Goodbye” to one of our environmental educators, Olivia Serafini. Olivia was accepted into a master’s program at Virginia Tech and will be furthering her knowledge in environmental science.
Although we were sad to see her go, we were excited to see her take her next steps in her academic career! We asked her if she had anything she’d like to share about her time with us, and she wrote the following message:
“Working with the Green Spring Gardens’ Youth and Family Education Department for the last year has been a memorable experience. Having the opportunity to work with GSG’s fantastic staff and volunteers has taught me so much, and I’m incredibly grateful. Bailey Price and Katie Sivinski were amazing teachers, showing me the ropes and encouraging me to let my personality shine during our school field trip programs. I was even given the opportunity to make my own programs, teaching young kids and adults about ecology, conservation, and the wilderness in their own backyards. I’m most proud of my Tree Tracker and Plate Tectonic scripts, designed to mix instruction with fun, with interactive activities to use what was learned.
Two of my most memorable moments here at Green Spring were our holiday volunteer tea party and the Fairies and Gnomes summer camp. To celebrate the wonderful Youth and Family Education and front desk volunteers, GSG staff gathered at the Historic House and set up a lovely tea party with snacks and desserts. We gave a toast to everyone for all their hard work over the year and spent the afternoon talking with each other as friends. It was so cute to see all the little desserts everyone made, and the whole event gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling. During our wonderful Fairies and Gnomes camp, we had an exciting scavenger hunt filled with finding and deciphering hidden messages in the fairy forest. Watching the wonder in the campers' eyes as they solved puzzles and found the secret location of the treasure was such an innocent marvel. I couldn’t help myself from wanting to join in and see things the way a child does. I truly am going to miss moments like that, but I hope I can share what I’ve learned with everyone I meet going forward. I wish everyone at Green Spring Gardens the best, and I hope our paths cross again!”
Wishing Olivia all the best on her journey ahead.
