Recently, alumni members of Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS), an international business honor society, spent a Saturday morning at Mission Trails Regional Park. Besides volunteering our time for park beautification, we had an opportunity to learn a little bit about the Park and it's vegetation and wildlife inhabitants. At the visitor center, Ranger Mel made everyone very aware of the different kinds of rattlers that could cross our path - and what to do in the case of a snakebite. He encouraged us to stay well hydrated and to use sunscreen, even though there was some slight precipitation that "May gray" morning.

Following the safety briefing, our crew of nine headed out to the trail, undeterred. We were eager to start cutting. Specifically, BGS volunteers were tasked with cutting down the non-native black mustard seed plants. We took turns lopping down the plants stalk by stalk and raking the clippings into huge piles. After only an hour, we were amazed at the progress we had made.

After much hard work, we ended the day back at the visitor center to enjoy some refreshments and discuss our experience with Ranger Mel. He was very appreciative of our efforts. The experience was an enjoyable one despite the weather, and a couple of us even saw a snake! It was a nice opportunity for BGS members to help the community as well as enjoy the beauty of San Diego.