For Pat Drizd, a love of education and a green thumb will go a long way as she prepares to help protect the bays in Sussex County.
Drizd was recently named volunteer coordinator for the Center for the Inland Bays. She said she has been committed to the center’s mission since moving to Dagsboro from Maryland. She enjoys her new home in Sussex County and wants to help preserve the habitat and natural beauty of the area.
In Maryland she worked as an elementary school teacher in Prince Georges County, as well as coordinator of the Mathematics, Science and Technology Magnet Program in College Park.
“I’m a person who likes to be helpful and give back,” said Drizd. “I give people the opportunity to use their skills. I hear what they have to offer.”
Drizd said she was able to create teaching training programs and instructional materials that integrated the worlds of science and reading. Her teaching experience later combined with her love of nature when she taught summer classes for the Friends of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Now she hopes to use this combination in her new position at the center.
Drizd and her husband, Terry, lived in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., before retiring to Sussex County. Their two children, Ben Howard and Jessica Drizd, still live in the D.C. area, but visit often.
“I’ve been visiting Bethany Beach since I was 8,” said Drizd. “I was a beach girl.”
Her unassuming manner and pleasant smile make her a great addition to the working relationships already cemented at the center. Plus as her new coworkers noted, a new set of eyes is always welcome when working to help such a large area like the bays.
She said while the CIB has always depended on its volunteers to make the programs work, they have never had such a large number of volunteers as they do now.
The large number of volunteers has led to more programming needs, and Drizd says she will fill in this gap.
“I wasn’t able to be a good teacher without my volunteers,” said Drizd. “I know how to round them up and get them on board.”
She has already worked as an educational volunteer for the center and helped organize last year’s native plant sale at the James Farm Ecological Preserve in Ocean View.
This year she has been named the committee chair and she is looking forward to having an even larger turnout, thanks to some great volunteers.
Drizd said her interest in native plants was born when she started gardening around her home in Sussex County. She said she was looking for hardy plants that would be low maintenance and native plants fit perfectly. After she compiled some background on native plants, working with the CIB’s plant sale fit right in.
When she’s not gardening, Drizd enjoys going on walks and quilting with some of her new Sussex County friends.
“I’ve found a good group of quilters,” said Drizd. “I like to interact with people.”
She said this spring most of her time will be spent with the native plant sale committee coming up with new ideas and new vendors to display information and plants at the sale coming up May 13, just in time for Mother’s Day.
“The committee is excited about the sale,” said Drizd at a recent CIB Citizens Advisory Committee meeting. “One thing we always need is volunteer leadership.”
She said volunteers are what drive these programs and she looks forward to meeting new people who have an interest in the environment and the Inland Bays. She has already put her feelers out for new volunteers, by creating a brochure with information about volunteering for the CIB. She has sent stacks of these brochures to many of the county’s public libraries.
She also plans to list volunteer opportunities online to utilize all modes of technology to get the word out.
In addition to her work at the James Farm, Drizd is looking forward to the center’s move to a new office location on Indian River Inlet in Delaware State Park.
Drizd will be monitoring the outdoor native plant demonstrations at the building and gathering volunteers to help with landscaping and other projects at the new site.
For more information about volunteer opportunities at the CIB, contact CIB at 302-645-7325.
