Acorns, Eels, and the Power of Connections

I can’t tell you how thrilled I was at the positive response to last week’s post about the eel ladder. I was afraid it was one of those things that intrigued me personally but lacked general appeal. This happens. 

I never would have known about the eel ladder if it weren’t for someone whose name might be familiar to you: AJ Metcalf. Metcalf was a local editor for Patch back in the day. The early days of Patch were peopled with some legitimately gifted journalism folks and I’ve kept track of some of them since then. 

Mr. Metcalf is now the Director of Media Communications for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. It’s that human connection that prompted me to follow DNR’s  social media accounts. You may recall I wrote about their intriguing call for acorns last year. 

“We need yours nuts.” 

Simply because of this one personal connection I’ve frequently found myself fascinated and better informed about aspects of Maryland I had really known very little about. From their website: 

Vision Statement

Inspired by nature and rooted in science to improve and grow stewardship for Maryland’s natural resources.

Mission Statement​

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources leads the state toward a resilient future by using data, partnerships, and an innovative spirit to improve ecological, social, and economic outcomes for all communities.

Naturally I’m always on the lookout for stories where the activities of the DNR fall within our local area. That’s what drew me in to the eel ladder story. Then, last night, in an entirely different setting, the Department of Natural Resources popped up again. 

This question appeared on the ColumbiaMD Reddit:

When is peak foliage expected to occur this fall in Columbia Maryland?

Well! I thought people only cared about peak foliage in vacation destinations like Vermont. Does anyone keep track of perfectly ordinary Columbia, Maryland? Surprisingly, yes.

Guess who? A reader responded:

A month or so, you can get emails from DNR. The info is posted here:

https://news.maryland.gov/dnr/2024/10/10/fall-foliage-report-for-october-10-2024/

In case you appreciate visual aids, here’s a map DNR posted several days ago.

Map showing the Fall foliage in Maryland 

Years ago I had a rather heated discussion with someone about what was the most motivating factor in getting people to attend choral concerts. He said it was the music on the program and I said it was who would be performing. Yes, it was a rather silly argument and more an indication of what each of us was most motivated by. In retrospect, both are important. But even then, fresh out of college, I was aware of how much personal connections motivated me.

It’s also true that, in the case of Mr. Metcalf, if I hadn’t already been deeply interested in the natural environment I might not have been motivated to take more than a cursory glance. It’s rarely either/or. 

Have you ever become interested in something because a friend or family member clued you in to something new? I think sometimes we underestimate the power of those connections.

Village Green/Town² Comments