Judy Seeley is one of the most active and valued volunteers in the Upstate SCNPS. Having moved to the Upstate from Pennsylvania in the early “aughts,” Judy once didn’t know much about South Carolina’s native plants. But she joined SCNPS in 2010 and started (in her words) “learning from doing.” And she hasn’t stopped learning and doing since!
While serving on the Upstate SCNPS board in countless roles, the contributions she’s made to the organization have ranged from organizing field trips to leading plant sales. One of her favorite things is getting her hands dirty with the “Greenhouse Gang” at the Upstate Native Nursery, but she also loves tending the native plant garden at the Pickens County Museum.
Even at home, she collects seeds to donate to the SCNPS nursery and pots up extra plants for the SCNPS Upstate plant sale. (Any given plant you buy at the upstate spring plant sale could very well have had its start in the Seeley backyard!)
Judy says one of the things she enjoys most about volunteering is getting to work with friendly, knowledgeable people who are willing to share their skills and expertise. And it’s obvious to anyone who’s met her that Judy is as much a people person as she is a plant person.
It’s an understatement to say that we are fortunate to have Judy as a member and leader of the Upstate chapter. If you’re considering volunteering with SCNPS, just follow her advice:
“Don’t be intimidated! Just jump in! You don’t have to know everything to get started!”