Cibolo Center For Conservation
GUEST COMMENTARY
People need nature. We feel it the moment we step outside.
The calm that comes from the rustling trees, the satisfaction of working the soil or the peace of hearing birdsongs on a quiet morning. But nature also needs people, people of all abilities who care enough to lend a hand, to nurture and to give back.
At the Cibolo Nature Center, I have the privilege of working with many wonderful volunteers who bring life and love to the land.
As a mother of an adult child with different abilities, I feel a special connection to one group in particular, students from Champion High School, led by teacher Jessica Penney.
I understand the deep need to belong and to have purpose, which is one of the reasons this group touches my heart so profoundly. Every month during the school year, Jessica and her Life Skills students make the short walk from their campus to the Nature Center to volunteer.
“I saw that y’all were accepting volunteers,” Jessica shared, “and since my students were within walking distance, I thought how great it would be if we could walk there and volunteer regularly, to give my kids some work experience and get them outside in nature.”
Her students quickly discovered that giving back to nature can be joyful work.
“They loved filling up the frog pond and watering the plants,” Jessica said. “They kept asking when we could be going back next.”
During their visits, the students take on all kinds of tasks — watering plants, filling up the frog pond, making sugar water for the hummingbirds, spreading mulch and picking up litter.
At first, there was more water on the students than on the plants and in the pond, but each project and visit connected them more deeply to the environment while helping sustain the life that thrives here.
“It’s so much more hands-on,” Jessica said. “It keeps my students more engaged, and they’ve really grown in their focus and independence. Some can now water plants and gather garbage on their own because of their work at the Nature Center.”
When asked why she believes nature needs her students just as much as they need nature, Jessica smiled and said, “My students learn in and from nature just as much as nature grows because of them. The Nature Center loves our work just as much as we love volunteering.
“My kids help keep it clean and watered so that everything can thrive—just like they do in our classroom,” she added. That beautiful reciprocity — people helping nature, and nature helping people — is at the heart of everything we do at The Cibolo. Each student, each volunteer, reminds us that stewardship isn’t about ability; it’s about connection, care and belonging.
Because in the end, it’s true: people need nature, and nature needs its people — every single one of us. Together, we can help nature, and one another, thrive.
If you’re inspired to give back to the nature that gives so much to us, we’d love to have you join our volunteer community. To learn more about volunteering opportunities, reach out to Jennifer Smith at jennifers@ cibolo.org.
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