We are so excited to honor Kim Patullo in this month’s Volunteer Spotlight. Kim is a member of the FOPFC Prairie Restoration Team and has spent countless hours working in the PFC prairies, pulling weeds and doing seed collection. She also maintains the rain garden at the conservancy, and in the fall, she leads seed collection sessions and monarch tagging groups.
Kim’s initial connection with Pope Farm was prior to it being designated a conservancy open to the public. “The Popes had sheep that would graze in the fields east of the barn, and I was delighted each and every time I passed while heading to and from my home,” said Kim. “My family and I stopped frequently on the roadside just to watch the lambs jump around in the spring and monitor their growth through the season.”
Kim joined the Friends group in 2015, and through a Pope Farm newsletter, learned that volunteers were needed for weeding or seed collection. At that time, Kim had recently completed the Master Gardener program through UW-Extension. The program provides research-based horticulture education to individuals, and in turn, they provide horticulture service and education to the community through volunteer efforts. “It was a perfect fit for me and my interests,” she recalls.
Kim enjoys playing an important role in prairie restoration at PFC. “It’s fun to lead groups of volunteers on a treasure hunt for a particular seed pod for collection or a particular plant that is a bit too aggressive that needs to be curtailed. No matter what age the participant is, they always leave a session with a smile.”
Her favorite part about the conservancy is its prairies. “I find the complexity of the prairie totally AMAZING! The variety of plants living together in harmony is inspiring,” she remarks. She loves observing the cycle of blooms throughout the season, never knowing what will be on full display on any particular week. “The carefully curated selection of seeds provide a dazzling and ever-changing display of native species of prairie plants,” she says. “And in order to ensure the beautiful display remains established and flourishing, the prairie requires consistent oversight and maintenance. I am so grateful to Curt and others that put in that oversight, and I am so happy to help maintain it whenever I can.”
Kim visits Pope Farm Conservancy fairly often throughout the year. “It is an excellent place for running or snowshoeing, walking or just sitting to reflect. It is my antidote for coping with the blows of modern-day living. With the constant influx of news and information, the majority of it alarming and negative – it’s a necessity to just take a moment to breathe, to rebalance. Pope Farm offers that breathing room, that place to find peace – and often – even joy.”
We are so grateful to you, Kim, for your volunteer work at the conservancy and your contributions to the Friends group. Thank you!!