For a Good Cause -- Barbara Shelton

* Story by Deepa Bharath; photo by [tk]

When Barbara Shelton works with plants, she forgets the world around

her.

“You go into a meditative state,” the 64-year-old Corona del Mar

resident said. “It takes away all the problems -- in the world and in

your mind.”

During the many hours Shelton volunteers at the Environmental Nature

Center in Newport Beach every week, she knows she is involved in a noble

cause. By planting a seed or a cutting, she is actually involved, as she

says, “in the propagation of life.”

Shelton is a master gardener, a designation that means she has taken

advanced lessons on everything related to gardening, from soils and water

to pest management. Shelton took a four-month course to improve her

gardening knowledge.

She has volunteered her time to the center for the last five years.

Shelton is one of three master gardeners at the center who propagate

native plants. The center has 14 native plant communities, from the tall

redwoods to desert vegetation.

“There are some plants we get from other places, such as the Nature

Conservancy,” she said. “There are other cuttings we plant that are from

our center. Those are just plants that we want to have more of.”

Shelton says she volunteers at the center because she loves to be

there.

“Sometimes we’re lucky enough to get paid for what we love to do,” she

said. “But when you volunteer, the only reason you do it is because you

enjoy it so much.”

Shelton said she also believes in what she does.

“It helps educate young people and helps them experience nature in

their own community,” she said. “It’s a beautiful experience that stays

with them for the rest of their lives.”

Shelton, along with the other master gardeners, also plans to start

classes soon for young people and adults so they can learn to propagate

native plants in their own backyard.

“I’ve volunteered with other organizations, but nothing has been as

fulfilling or satisfying for me,” she said. “I’m a gardener at heart, and

it gives me so much joy to see something sprout from a cutting or a

seed.”