By Schyler Brown, Conservation Specialist
I want to thank John LeaRussa, a member of the Edith L. Moore Trail Crew, for his hard work and dedication as a Houston Audubon volunteer. The Trail Crew is a team of volunteers who assist the sanctuary manager in maintaining the life of our trail systems at Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary (ELMNS). John started Trail Crew in the summer of 2023, braving the heat to keep up the trails at ELMNS. I met John in November of ’23, while introducing myself to the Trail Crew as the new sanctuary manager.
As the new sanctuary manager, I was getting a grasp of the logistics and sanctuary needs at ELMNS, specifically the needs, expectations, and typical duties for Trail Crew. John did not hesitate to come forward and help. John led me throughout the sanctuary, pointing out boardwalks that needed repair and other necessary projects. John demonstrated a desire, determination, and dedication to ELMNS that gave me the confidence to tackle the job with him by my side. Though, there was another layer to John’s abilities as a volunteer that I deeply value to this day – and that is John’s ability to see beyond the sanctuary’s immediate needs. Valuing planning and strategy, John offered input that would keep volunteers engaged, make projects (big and small) approachable, and help us keep up with replacing tools and scheduling tool maintenance. I have to admit, long term strategic planning was daunting to me at first. Taking on the management of a nature sanctuary is a lot of responsibility. John’s support and trust allowed me to lead the Trail Crew and find the answers to the problems they faced.
In addition to his knowledge and forethought, John is simply one tough cookie. This last winter, we had a Trail Crew volunteer day cancelled because of icy roads and cold weather. I notified the Trail Crew that I was already at work but they didn’t need to come in. Despite the opportunity to stay warm at home drinking hot coffee, John showed up to work with me. That day we repaired an overlook barrier that required nimble fingers for nailing wood together; a tricky thing to do when your fingers are frozen!
On another occasion, John and I built a pre-filter for our pond pump which sits in Rummel Creek, a tributary of Buffalo Bayou that runs through ELMNS. Not only did John work with me to come up with the design for the pump pre-filter, he also volunteered to pick up the supplies and installed the whole thing by himself in Rummel Creek.
I have learned so much from John, from leadership skills, to building and construction skills, and much more. Not to mention he’s a great fishing partner and an all around positive, friendly face to have at ELMNS. I could go on forever highlighting John’s contributions, and a few paragraphs simply don’t do it justice!
Catch John and other members of the Trail Crew as we focus on our spring project – rebuilding the pond boardwalk.
John-we at Houston Audubon are beyond grateful for your time spent with us at Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary. Thanks for being a top-notch volunteer and friend!
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