I came to the Center two and a half years ago as a summer camp intern. As my role has changed from environmental educator to volunteer coordinator and community health evaluation coordinator, I have found myself reflecting on a question that has repeatedly come up in the various roles I’ve held: What is environmentalism?

It didn’t take long in my role as an educator to notice that how I engaged with nature wasn’t universal. Activities I loved as a child, like catching bugs or sitting quietly in the woods or playing in snow, while appreciated by some, could be terrifying, disgusting or down right boring to some of my students.

I often am impressed by the volunteers at the Urban Ecology Center. Whether it's the unique skills they bring, their dedication, or what they teach me about my own job as volunteer coordinator, the people that we get to include in our Center's community never ceases to amaze me.