Fresh Air, Foliage, and Families

Everything that’s great about New Hampshire came together on October 11 when BCNH hired a school bus to take 50 New Americans from Manchester on a field trip.  Participants were from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Ukraine, Congo, Bhutan, and Haiti.  (Sadly, the only Haitian on the trip was one of BCNH’s employees.  The others who were invited no longer dare to gather in groups for fear of attracting ICE agents.  They are all here legally, but they do not feel free to assemble.)

But the weather was great.  And the destinations were beautiful.  The first stop was NH Audubon’s McLane Center in Concord.  We hiked down to Turkey Pond, admired the barred owl and the turkey vulture in their raptor muse, and relaxed in the garden until the building opened and we could use the bathrooms.

Then we piled back into the bus and drove across the Merrimack to the headquarters of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.  We were greeted by the Forest Society’s Dave Anderson, an extraordinary educator and guide, and Jack Savage, the Society’s president.  They couldn’t have been nicer, more generous, or more committed to welcoming everyone to explore their trail network along the Merrimack River.

We had a blast.

This field trip was different from others we’ve organized over the last three years.  The others were financed by the U.S. Forest Service and were focused on helping New Americans discover the White Mountains National Forest.   That funding stopped when federal agencies were forbidden to promote DEI initiatives.  Our now-furloughed federal contact helped with this field trip, anyway, as a volunteer; a donation from TD Bank paid for the bus and the lunches.

So, yes,  this was the best of New Hampshire: the natural environment, a few committed nonprofit organizations, a generous business, warm and giving individuals, and the smiles of a Ukrainian boy in a pinetree and families from around the world relaxing, together, in the afternoon sun.