A well-known nursery rhyme goes like this: "Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?" A more pertinent question for my column might be: "WHO makes the garden grow?" That question is easily answered--the garden's staff, volunteer gardeners, and docents. Long-time docent Helen Friedman, also a UCLA alumna (class of '59), is a sterling example of the many committed, fun-loving people who make things grow at MEMBG.
A retired and now interim elementary school principal and part-time faculty member and fieldwork supervisor of intern teachers for California State University Dominguez Hills, Helen somehow still finds time to dedicate three to four hours each week to MEMBG activities. And we've never heard a single complaint about the one-hour (one-way) commute between UCLA and her Palos Verdes home, a trip she makes several times a month.
When, as a young child, Helen was given the choice of washing dishes or mowing the lawn, she always opted for the mowing. A lifelong lover of plants and nature, Helen now is making one of her dreams come true--the transformation of an unusable acre of land in her backyard into her own private park. The area, which already includes several horse trails, will be planted with native plants of California and Australia. But Helen and her family won't be the only ones to enjoy this lovely setting--the many wild animals in her neighborhood, including foxes, skunks, raccoons, and birds, are sure to enjoy it, too! Such hospitality isn't at all unexpected if you know a bit about Helen's background. Over the years, she has been "mistress" to cats, dogs, horses, ducks, chickens, fish, and even snakes. She says she was a frustrated veterinarian.
In addition to education, plants, and animals, Helen has always been drawn to the arts. During the summers in the late 1980s and early 1990s, she served as administrator for the Getty Institute for Education in the Arts.
Helen found out about MEMBG from an article in UCLA's alumni magazine and participated in the fall '96 docent class. Although she had no formal training in botany before her docent training at MEMBG, she was a science major in high school and always checks out the botanical gardens during her worldwide travels. Because she feels that she brings less academic background to the program than some of the other docents, Helen appreciates the sense of discovery and the ongoing training that she receives as a docent. She also tells us that she considers MEMBG one of her favorite Southern California gardens--quite a compliment from a global traveler!
When I asked Helen why she participates so fully with MEMBG, she answered simply, "to give back." She feels that she owes her professional success to her education and training at UCLA, and now she wants to do something in return.
That's our Helen. She loves plants, animals, people, and especially Bruins . . . of all genders, colors, shapes, and sizes!
CAROL FELIXSON
Docent and Communications Coordinator