The dedication our volunteers show to helping further our mission is an inspiration to all of us. Their generous contributions of time and talents are instrumental to our success. We recently held a celebration to thank these individuals but we wanted to further acknowledge them by sharing some of their accomplishments.
This year alone, 51 Junior Volunteers gave a total of 1473 hours; 59 Adult Volunteers providing us with 1830 hours of service; and 37 One Day Volunteers assisted us for 133 hours. Together, these devoted individuals were responsible for an aggregate 3436 donated hours.
Several of our volunteers helped at the front desk or with special events. Others gave their time teaching or assisting in the Aquarium and with Summer Nature Programs. Some also helped with terrapin projects such as spotting nesting females, installing nest exclosures to protect eggs from predation, and monitoring the nests for hatchlings.
Our top junior volunteer for the year was Taylor Tedesco who gave 132 hours of service. Taylor’s contributions expanded from planting marsh grass to tagging terrapins and horseshoe crabs. She joined in on reTURN the Favor walks and helped to conduct horseshoe crab surveys. Her dedication to recapturing terrapins for our monitoring projects lead her to focus on diamondback terrapin habitat and conservation in her coursework this semester.
Our top adult volunteer for 2014 was Dianna McFadden with 238 hours donated. Dianna volunteers a significant amount of her time helping at the front desk and in our Tidepool Shop. She also helps with special events and this year, she lent her amazing ear for birds to the Marshketeers by joining them for the World Series of Birding.
The contributions of our volunteers are extremely valuable. The Wetlands Institute Staff and Board of Trustees are deeply grateful to these generous individuals for their selfless commitment.
Thank you for all that you do!