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- Pat and Chris honored in Cambridge for their volunteer work
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- Julia and Don at training
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- Sam and Daniel sharing an object at training
Catherine Carter
Program Volunteer
Catherine was thrilled to discover The Nature Connection in 2016. As a Program Volunteer she has helped to deliver on-site programs to youth and elders throughout Greater Boston including the Cambridge Health Alliance Elder Service Plan, Walden Street School in Concord and WCI Waltham. She believes wholeheartedly in our mission, in part because having regular contact with animals and nature has brought so much solace and joy to her own life. Catherine is grateful to be part of a group whose goal is to make nature accessible to everyone. Catherine has a Masters in Teaching (MAT) from Tufts University and has worked with young children for many years.
Jenni Edgerton
Program Volunteer
Jenni has been volunteering with Nature Connection since January 2016. An educator, writer, and editor by trade, Jenni volunteers primarily with elders. She feels privileged to hear their stories and bring nature indoors. She was drawn to the organization's mission after moving from the city out to Stow, MA. Living out in the green, surrounded by forests, lakes, and animals, Jenni and her family noticed how relaxed and happy they felt. She never realized how much they were missing the natural world until it surrounded them.
Suzanne Knight
Program Volunteer
Suzanne is a retired high school biology teacher with a wealth of experience communicating about science and in particular, speaking to teens. As a Program Volunteer she has helped bring our programs to young women at the Walden Street School, and has worked with memory care residents at both Concord Park at the Gardens at Newbury Court. One of the most touching moments she's experienced was a conversation with an elder woman who told Suzanne all about her home on the ocean in Greece and how she missed the sound and smell of the ocean. She held her hand and asked if Suzanne would come back for a visit, which of course, she did.
Sarah Tucker
Animal Caregiver
Sarah owns a small hobby farm on the South Shore and started volunteering her therapy animals with the The Nature Connection in the fall of 2016. Residents of a local nursing home had already been introduced to her sweet corgi, goats and chickens, and she is loving introducing them to the elders and youth we serve. She recalls one afternoon placing a bantam chicken in the lap of an elderly blind resident at one of our partner sites, and hearing the flood of memories the woman told her of her own beloved animals. She believes that vitamin "N" is essential for us all! A graduate of Colby College, Sarah has a Master’s Degree in Psychology from Boston University.
Ed Morgan
Animal Caregiver
Ed is one of a small group of dedicated voluntees who care for Crow, one of our therapy animals. His family had two pet crows when he was young that Ed's father got from a farmer when they fell from a nest. After this experience he grew to learn what amazing creatures they are! Taking care of Ms. Crow is a highlight of his week. Ed is also a children’s singer/songwriter better known in the greater Boston area simply as “The Music Man”. For over ten years he has delighted kids & grown-ups alike with his interactive children’s songs.
Peter Gorny
Animal Caregiver
Peter is a recently retired software engineer. He came to The Nature Connection aftering responding to an ad looking for volunteers to care for Crow, our non-releasable therapy animal who needed help socializing. He joined enthusiastically because from the early childhood he had been fascinated by birds and the family of Corvids in particular. Caring for Miss C, as our voluntees call her, is a great pleasure for Peter: interacting with her amazing intelligence and proud personality, admiring her joyful disposition in spite of her injury.
Rebecca and Walter Stadolnik
Animal Caregiver
Rebecca Stadolnik and her son Walter are a mother-son volunteer team who share a love of nature/science and animals and are currently assisting with the socialization of Nature Connection's ambassador animal Crow. Rebecca studied Communication and Biology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and worked as a medical writer for over ten years before switching gears to become a full-time mom/volunteer. In addition to helping with Crow, she serves as Chair of the Stow Medical Reserve Corps, plays French Horn in the Nashoba Symphonic Band, and teaches in the Religious Education program at First Parish Church of Stow and Acton. Walter attends Nashoba Regional High School, where he is a trombone player in the school concert band, intermediate jazz band, and the Nashoba Symphonic Band. He is also an avid gardener, and forager.
Julia Latady
Support Volunteer
Julia started volunteering in-house with The Nature Connection in 2016, helping out with administrative tasks and office organization. She's been interested in the idea of connecting people with animals and nature from an early age. Julia currently wears many hats as a nanny/Montessori caregiver, a 4-H teacher, and a farm program educator.
Kizette Vanger
Program Volunteer
Kizette Vanger is living proof that you can grow up loving nature even when you hail from the concrete jungle of New York City. She decided to go and seek it out further by studying Environmental Studies with a minor in Wildlife Biology at the University of Vermont. Throughout college she did summer internships with US Fish and Wildlife Service and upon graduation accepted the job of a Park Ranger at the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge in Sudbury, MA. When she volunteers with The Nature Connection she considers it a unique and fun experience to deliver programs as part of a collaborative team.
