Wash Your Hands & Take a Walk
UVLT has been monitoring advice from public health officials and has implemented guidelines to protect the health of our staff, volunteers, and supporters. As a result, we have cancelled all planned indoor events through the month of April. We will continue to offer outdoor activities, though some formats and logistical details will be re-designed. Since guidance about COVID-19 is developing, please check our website for up-to-date information about specific events before attending.
We believe it is important to be proactive in preventing further spread of the virus. Our internal response plan includes procedures for daily operations inside the office and out in the field. This includes hand washing hygiene, guidance for handling documents, use of videoconferencing and phone calls in lieu of face-to-face meetings, and frequent cleaning of indoor surfaces and office machines. The changes we have made likely mirror some of the practical, and potentially lifesaving, changes you have embraced in your homes and workplaces.
It is important, in these viral times, to remember that “social distancing” need not be a prescription to stay shut up indoors. Everyone is feeling anxious about the changes to our daily routines and the uncertainty of what comes next. While we need to distance ourselves from each other we don’t need to distance ourselves from nature. We can take this time to reconnect with the world outside. Take a walk in the spring sunshine. Listen to birdsong — who is talking? Take note of the swelling maple buds, and first hints of green in the fields and woods. Enjoy mud season in all its glory — rivulets of spring runoff, squishy-ness underfoot, March wind ripping in the trees.
As we all take steps to keep each other healthy, take a walk. UVLT’s 21 Conservation Areas and 50 public trails offer fresh air and the joy of nature. Need ideas or new places to visit? Maps and descriptions are here. We wish you respite and resilience. And wash your hands when you get home!
