Vollie Day 04: My first guided tours

Yes that was a long break: there was a work project to wrap up and an overseas wedding to crash, and then I had to finish my guide training (kind of) but now, yes, it's done, and I'm allowed to start guiding, and that happened today.

I picked a roster with Lori, a lovely fellow guide with whom I'd completed training.  Lori is a walking Wikipedia entry on NAC: she took our first tour for the morning and I finally understood how grossly underprepared I was to take a guided group: but I instantly learned a lot about keeping the group entertained and having a basic structure prepared before just dragging a few strangers around the building.

Thoughtful design is entertaining, but...

I took the second tour and Lori came along to back me up, which was great.  My first tour group was just one gorgeous little family who were visiting NAC for the first time on their daughter's birthday, so everything I said was going to be new information.  I decided to keep things moving quickly to try to match the energy of their kids, and to focus on things that they could take the kids to that day, like the pod playground, and to encourage them to get out into a forest on their own where the kids could go bananas in a safe and shady spot.  They were a great audience as I gave them a very brief basic history of the establishment of NAC, the rationale behind the choice of the species that were planted, some basics about water, fire and soil management, and where to go today to have some fun with the kids.

There are people who know how to make these

Lori and I had a coffee and Lori took the third tour - once again comprehensively sharing her passion for NAC, and then I took my second group: all adults this time, some of whom had come from a wedding in the Margaret Whitlam pavilion where a drone had circled the site bearing a GoPro camera whose pictures I would LOVE to see.  We focussed mostly on landscaping ideas for a family who have just taken on a large property and came to NAC to get some inspiration on how they could develop it.

I've decided to stick to a basic outline and over the coming months fill it with different factoids most relevant to the tour group audience: but also to aim to keep it under twenty minutes (and be ready to keep it under fifteen if the group is a bit restless).  This blog will build as I treat it as my study notes for both the forests (whose earlier blog entries I will actually post as I collect photos and information about them), and also for background on the site and how it is and will be managed.

So here is my list of things to remember for my next few tours as I build my repertoire:

• From the starting point:
  A brief history: the fires and the centennial project,
  Some Village Centre architectural features.
• To the north deck via the interactive table map:
  Landscape Design: the species chosen, their layout, and fire prevention and management,
  Any two forests within view: start with the caged Dragons, the cherries and the Sequoia,
  The Wide Brown Land sculpture,
  Get out of the Village Centre and see it: How to walk or drive to the Himalayan Cedars and the Cork Oak (two mature forests),
  For people with kids: The Pod Playground
  For people interested in landscaping and planting locally: Forest 20 (STEP), and soil management.
• To the south deck through the Village Centre:
  Dairy Farmers Hill: the Nest II sculpture, and water management,
  Events at the auditorium and the Margaret Whitlam Pavilion,
  The Japanese Black Pine Niwaki,
  The National Bonsai and Penjing Collection of Australia
  The ACTEW Water Canberra Discovery Garden
  Still to come: gardens and covered plantings. 

Things I'll need to remember for next time:

• Manage the pace 
• Maintain eye contact
• Give clear directions between stops
• Know what's flowering this week