Decades of volunteer service at Conservancy nursery have left an indelible impact
“It’s clear as a bell up here,” Norris “Whitey” Mendenhall says on his way up to Catalina Island Conservancy’s Ackerman Native Plant Nursery, a trip he’s taken nearly every Thursday for the last 27 years. This Sunday, Aug. 25, Whitey will celebrate his 90th birthday.
He moved to the Island in October of 1967 after “finding his love in Avalon,” his wife, Joy. He has been a staple on Catalina Island ever since, working at Safeway, US Bank and Avalon Liquor over the years. Though he’s racked up more than 4,300 volunteer hours with the Conservancy, Whitey doesn’t keep close track. “I don’t count how long I’ve been doing it,” he says. “I’m just glad to be able to.”
The Air Force veteran considers his weekly volunteer efforts as part of his therapy as he continues to recover from a recent stroke. Lesly Lieberman, Volunteer Coordinator for Catalina Island Conservancy, calls Mendenhall “an incredible asset – and an even better person. We love having Whitey around and will do what we can to keep him volunteering as long as he wants to.”
Each week, Whitey and Lesly talk on the phone about that week’s Ackerman Native Plant Nursery visit.
“I thank Lesly for allowing me to come out here because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to come but she said, ‘try it,’ so that’s what I did and it worked fine with me,” said Whitey. “I thank the Nursery and the Conservancy for allowing me to continue to work until I’m not able to any more… I will be 90 years old, and I’m happy to do this. Even at my age, I don’t feel 90 – this helps me feel like a lot younger version of that.”
Though he doesn’t have space to tend a garden at home, Whitey feels a sense of pride as he walks into the Native Plant Nursery. “This is my garden,” he said, before quickly identifying dozens of plants through rows of seedlings. The nursery has gotten bigger and more advanced in the years that Whitey has been volunteering, growing along with his love and knowledge of plants.
He didn’t have a green thumb when he started volunteering. “I picked one flower plant to learn about each week and, eventually, you start to know a lot,” he said. His favorites are the native plants and endemics because “there’s nothing like them anywhere else on earth.” He loves the rusty color that St. Catherine’s lace (Eriogonium giganteum) takes on when they’re ready to go dormant, and the Western blue-eyed-grass (sisyrinchium bellum) with its delicate flowers.
Whitey spends most of his volunteer time watering and transplanting, with each plant hearing his signature ‘Grow, baby, grow!’ as he finishes patting down the soil. The Conservancy even established a volunteer award in 2003 – the Whitey Mendenhall “GROW BABY GROW” Native Plant Nursery Award – given annually to a volunteer in recognition of incredible contributions.
“Having Whitey here to train the next generation by sharing his stories and his patience teaches people the right way to do things and the right outlook,” said the Conservancy’s Plant Program Lead Technician Monica Tydlaska. “I’m amazed that he comes every week to volunteer for the Conservancy – it all makes a difference.”
Whitey has no intention of slowing down, saying that he looks forward to his weekly volunteering. “It’s nice to go to a place where you’re known and well-liked and welcomed with open arms,” he said. “When you get a little older you don’t know if there are things that you can’t do that you wish you could, but, with this, I’m still able to do the things I like to do.”
With his decades of volunteer service at the nursery, Whitey has made an indelible impact on the Conservancy and also on Catalina Island. When people mention the thousands of plants around the Island that he’s touched throughout their life cycle, he smiles. “Well, I hope I’ve been some help – and I hope all the plants are growing.”
