Daedalian continues his conversation with Sam, Tina, and Abigail in two-part episode of Shining Stars. This time, the group dives a little further into their personal connections to nature and the transformative moments that affirm their commitment to nature education. The discussion also explores the importance of embracing nature for its myriad benefits to mental health and societal well-being, especially in the context of contemporary challenges.

Website: Fenner Nature Center

Related Podcast: Shining Stars - Fenner Nature Center, Pt. 1: A Classroom for All Ages

Welcome to Shining Stars: Voices of Service, Hope, and Change. A program dedicated to spotlighting the nonprofits and changemakers who are transforming our communities. Each episode shares inspiring stories of the organizations and individuals turning compassion into action.

This is Daedalian back on Shining Stars once again and talking with the folks from Fenner Nature Center. We've got Tina, Sam and Abigail in the studio with me.

And if you want to get more information about Fenner, you can always stop by the website is MyNaturCenter.org again doing this as a two-parter? If you want to hear the first part, go back to the previous episode and listen to that.

These guys have got quite a bit to say and they are absolutely a charming crew to talk to. So I'm enjoying this conversation. Let's get back into this. This one's going to be for each and every one of you.

And yes, I expect everybody to answer this. So I could actually hear parts of Sam as Sam was kind of talking.

And actually I feel like, Abigail, you definitely kind of almost answered the question at one point, but was there a point where, like, as you're working at Fenner, where you go, yep, this is why I do this? That moment that you're like, wow, this is great. This is where you almost didn't even know it was a job.

Oh, yeah, yeah, there's a lot of those, those moments. I think that, and I think that's been one of the, the things that's kept me in this field for so long.

You know, people can change careers and stuff like that. It's easy to get burnt out in a career. And I've had the opportunity to be doing this for over 20 years in the environmental education field.

And I think it's because you have those moments where you'd be teaching a kid and doesn't have to be a kid, it could be an adult as well.

You know, you're doing a public program and you're talking with bottom and then you, there's a moment, there's that little light bulb moment where like something you did, something you said, something that you introduced them just worked. And you see them, they're just like, oh yeah, you know, or like they got so engaged that they came up to you after the program.

They're like, I would love to learn more about this.

And I think one of the experiences we had with that was with our summer camp last year and we had one of the students, great kid, phenomenal kid, loved nature, but, you know, didn't really have a hardcore focus for it. And we had our volunteer and stewardship coordinator, Dylan. He was, he was talking with him, he was helping out with, doing some stuff with camps.

And Dylan's again into birds as well. And he kind of introduced that whole concept to this kid. And he got so sucked in with it. He got so enthralled by it.

And then, you know, you saw this kid who was just like, I like nature and I want to be out here and this is fun to like that's a piled woodpecker. He's like, no, no, Mr. Sam, if you just, just listen for a second. No, no, no, don't, don't move. Just listen and then he'll call out.

I was like, that was a red bellied, you know. And then you got him. Cause he, he, he loved it so much. He want pay more attention to it.

And then we got a chance just to see him about, you know, a year later at our world migratory bird event.

He's there the whole day, the whole day festival.

Yeah.

And just telling us about like the birds he had seen this year, the birds he was able to travel with his parents to go check out, you know, and he just, he was so into it. And this was something that like made a good positive change in that kid's life. And I love that.

That is awesome.

Yeah. Truthfully, I feel like that every single day.

So specifically when I'm walking through the classroom at the preschool, to get to my office, you have to cut through the classroom. So I get the joy of getting to like start my day in the classroom with the children. And the joy that emits from that space is next level.

Like nothing compares to it. And the community that we've built, honestly just Fenner as a whole, I feel like has so much community that people don't really realize.

I mean the, the families that have been with us at the preschool, some of them have been with us for you know, two to three years now. And that's like their entire early childhood experience that they get to stay and remain with us.

But they also go to festivals, they volunteer, they move on and do summer camps with Sam. And it's true connection, like in action. And these children who support see their teachers and their peers and Mr. Dylan for nature hour.

It's just true joy and connection that really makes this work feel very meaningful.

Yeah, kind of the day to day works for you, huh?

I walk into the preschool space or any space where you guys are like teaching and I'm like, whoa.

Like it's so different from our everyday like what we're used to, like this is like hands on seeing students and like younger students especially connect with nature or like just with each other in their own way, like socially, developmentally.

Like it's just that vibe, like that vibe of that place is so different.

And you can tell they're so happy, like they're thriving and they're supported. And I, I wish, you know, I had something like that growing up.

I feel like I would have grown up to be a very different person had I had something like that. But you guys responded like you guys had such gracious answers and I feel like mine is going to be a little bit more about myself.

So hopefully it doesn't sound self centered.

But well, it's okay if it is.

I think like the reason why, like I'll get those moments like, oh, this is why I'm doing what I'm doing is when I learn new things from everyone around me, from our audience, from the visitors, from the students, to the educators who are teaching.

And when I get so excited learning new things because I've always cared very deeply about all the things that we do, you know, environmental education, conservation, stewardship. But being able to actually like learn about it and apply it and like teach other people about it has been such a joy.

And if I'm not learning and like, are you really growing as a person?

If you're not, if you care about something but you're not making the effort to learn about that, I just feel like I can't become like a better person to make the community a better place and the world a better place essentially.

So yeah, I do feel those moments where I'm like, this is why I'm doing what I'm doing because I'm not stuck in one place where I feel like I know everything.

I'm constantly learning something new and I get to share that with other people who probably feel the same way, hopefully feel the same way as me and that they care about things, but they don't know where to start. And learning about it, making an effort, making an impact in their everyday life. And so yeah, I would say that's where I feel most connected.

I think that was a great answer. Sounds selfish to me at all. And you are correct in, you know, improving yourself and investing in yourself. You're actually helping others too. It's.

Oh, man.

Oh, wow.

Wow, that's some timing there.

Yeah, it was really good. I planned that one real well.

So was it pretty much desolate during that year?

Well, it was, it was one of those years. So when, when I started, I think I was, I think it was maybe about three weeks and then it was really nice.

The administrative staff took a voluntary furlough to make sure that the part time naturalist that we had on during that time could maintain their employment throughout Covid. So all the admins took a voluntary furlough so that the organization would make sure it stay afloat.

And during that time, during the COVID time, we didn't lose one employee. It was fantastic.

Um, and the, the stuff that we can offer people now, the facilities, the programs, everything like that has made a huge change. And the amount of people that are coming out to our events, the amount of people that just, you know, fill the parking lot and stuff like that.

We definitely, I think we have more visitorship each year when we have people that kind of find out about that hidden gem. I think one of my favorites was when we had a woman that came in and she was like, what is this place? I said, well, this is, you know, welcome.

This is Fender Nature Center. Is this your first time here? She's like, yeah. I was like, oh, are you from the Lansing area? She's like, yeah, I live on the street right next door.

I always just thought I had a really big backyard that went into the woods. She's like, I've been here for 40 years. I never knew you were here.

I was like, well, this is what happens when you don't take a left out of your driveway. You only take a right. You know, it was one of those things. So it was just so cool.

Like, you know, and you, you get more and more of those, it's, it's either, you know, I came here as a kid and I did something, you know, amazing or, you know, I just got introduced to this gem or, or we had people that came in here internationally that were, came here from northern Europe and we were one of their destination birding spots that they wanted to go to in the US that they wanted to come and check out this area. So they were just like, yeah, we heard great things about the, the birding here at Fenner during migratory bird time.

And I was like, that's incredible.

It's awesome. Sounds great.

And I don't like it always. It's important to get outside. So why is it important to get outside? Either from a philosophical point of view or from a science based point of view?

Really deep in.

What do you guys think?

I mean, the first thing that comes to mind for me is your mental health. Like there's research and evidence, the direct correlation between time outside, time spent in nature and positive mental health.

And I think that at a time where technology is so, so insane, insanely relied on that disconnection from technology and that connection with nature really like directly impacts society's mental health.

That makes sense.

Yeah.

I also think like there is so much going on in our own personal lives all of the time where when you take a moment to be outdoors, you also realize there's a whole universe and there's a whole, like there's so much going on outside of your own life. If you just take a moment to notice, like the world just keeps going on.

The birds are going to keep doing their things, all the other animals are like, oh, everything is just going to keep moving along. And it gives you a moment to like realize, oh, maybe my problems aren't so big.

Right?

Yeah.

Right.

Yeah.

Yeah. I give answers.

Yeah. I think, I mean, honestly there.

So you didn't want like the mental health route went from, you know, went from philosophical route with that one right there. I think that.

Blend them together.

I'm.

Blend them.

Yeah, blend them. We'll throw, we'll throw them from all together with that one right there.

I think that just, you know, being outside in general, if you're exposed to fresh air, if you're exposed to some of that, you Know, great bacteria that's outside and stuff like that. We're going with that evidence, too.

You notice that, like, kids that live on a farm get sick less than kids that live in the city because they're exposed to, you know, they're. They're exposed to nature. They're exposed to. To a lot of things that help boost that immune system that they have, especially Covid.

During COVID time and stuff like that, you could walk outside because we were. A lot of us were homebound and stuff like that. And I remember with. With my daughter, too, because I think she was about 4 at the time.

And.

And every day, like, I remember I put, like, an extra bike seat on the bike. And it was. Every day I was like. We had to go out, so we just make the rounds. We do. Like, I was. I was in great shape.

I was doing, like, 15 miles on the bike a day. It was fantastic. But we just take the rounds. We'd.

We'd take the bike to Fender, and we take the bike to Hawk island, and we take the bike to Potter Park. And you just. You could be outside and just had to be outside during those times because it was. Felt less isolating.

It felt like you were still connected. And even though it seemed like the world was crashing down around us during that time, it felt like it was still okay. You know, it was all right.

You know, you could still walk around, you could still engage. You could still see those birds. You could still, you know, be in that good, positive mental health state.

So it's kind of like that weird take. And no, it doesn't apply to everyone, but, you know, like, during the COVID era, people were like, whoa.

Like, I had time to do stuff or, like, do things that they didn't do before, spend more time outdoors. I think it's kind of similar in the way where you're slowing down.

Yeah.

And, you know, there's a place for that where you can slow down and not have to think about everything else and just be in the moment. So, yeah, I think that kind of the defining characteristic to me of, like, being out in nature is just. It's peaceful in many ways.

Yeah, I agree. That's obviously the prime reason why I go there.

And as you'd mentioned earlier, walking into Fenner very often, I just feel like I've stepped away from the city. And it's weird because it is right in the middle of the city to some degree. Corner of Mount Hope and Aurelius. I suppose we should fit that in there.

But one way or the Other you can Visit the website mynaturecenter.org and get all the details you need. Right.

So let's go around the room and I'm going to ask everybody a specific question, something that is, that's what I hope to be applicable to kind of what you do there at the nature Center. Tina, you're somebody that grew up here in Lansing and you've kind of hit on it here and there.

So has your relationship with nature or Lansing itself, has it changed since becoming a part of Fenner?

I have always really loved the Lansing community and all of the people, all the people are so great. The organizations working at Fenner has made me connect with those people a lot more.

Whether if it's for festivals, education, programmatic stuff, events, it's just helped me, for a lack of better terms, network with a lot of new people who also care a lot about our mission or just somehow we overlap with one another in one way or another. So I definitely do feel more connected to Lansing in that way. And I'm constantly meeting new people and I want to keep meeting new people.

And for a lot of organizations, they might not think like, oh, I will have nothing to do with Venter Nature center because, you know, our mission is a little bit different. But that's not always the case.

And we have like invited a lot of people in who maybe they just need a rental space out in nature, but they're doing something completely different or they want something fun like a animal encounter program for their team building exercises.

And I don't know, I just like got the chance to meet a lot of new people that I wouldn't have otherwise met and work with them and really build those partnerships up a lot more throughout the years. So I do feel a lot more connected to Lansing in that way.

So when you say rent a space. So do people do weddings anything?

Yeah, I mean, whatever event you can think of, we have a, like, we kind of have a space for that.

So we've done weddings, we've done team building, like conferences, Celebration of life right now, open houses are popping off around in the summer, but there's like a place kind of for everyone, hopefully. And we do have like a site for that.

So people really like it and they go on tours and check us out and otherwise they wouldn't have even known it was there. But we're there.

Very cool.

Yeah.

Sam, you've worked at a lot of nature centers and conservation spaces across the US and Canada as well. So what stands out to you about Fenner specifically in The Lansing community. What's, what's different?

It's the shortest commute I've ever had to work. It's spectacular. Oh my gosh. No, I mean, what really stands out about Fenner?

I, I, I'm gonna kind of, kind of ride Tina's coattails on this one a little bit.

In all the places that I've worked, I mean, you get to see, you get to work with, with good people and you get to see, you know, the impact that you make on the community and stuff like that. But the community connection that I found with Fenner, I, I think is unrivaled.

I, I think that people really, the community that we have here really, really backs that organization.

You know, when you, you, you see it when we have a festival, you see it when we, we have a, like an academic program, say like Annie's Big Nature Lesson, for example, which is a really cool program that does immersive education where they bring, you know, school kids out and they spend the whole week out there doing their science classes as opposed to just like the normal field trip model that you would have.

And you see the parents come out with that, you know, you'd see 20 kids that are in the class and there's, you know, 15 cars out there, you know, with all the parents that are coming in for this. You know, it's fantastic because they want to volunteer and they want to be at the space.

So you really, you see it when, when people are engaging with the social media or the storytelling that Tina is putting out. You see it wildly with the preschool community that we have.

I, you know, people really respond to this organization and I think it's because we offer so many different things and you don't have to be hardcore nature nerd like some of us to really, to really appreciate. You could just come out here for that open house. You know, you could, you could just have your kid in the preschool.

You could just really enjoy the, the, you know, the social media posts and the engagement and the backing that we have from that community. I think is, is by far the, the most I've ever seen in any of the organizations I've worked with.

That's awesome. It seems to be something with Lansing, the Lansing, I would say mid Michigan because there's a lot of the small towns.

You guys show up. You do good.

Yeah, they do.

Yeah.

Abigail, yours is the question I've really been excited to ask because it involves the kids. So what do young children notice about nature? That adults tend to miss everything.

Yeah, I was like, so Much, so.

Much like noticing it's there. Even.

I mean, even if you think about, like, the level that children observe from, they're obviously a lot lower than adults. So they see the things that are low down on the ground that, like, we don't even come into our line of sight. So, you know, if you.

If you go into a Fenner preschool program, you'll notice that all of the educators are down, crouched, low down on their knees. And that helps them, you know, be right, seeing exactly what the children are seeing.

But they'll see the tiniest little things on the ground that would never come into my line of sight. And it really just opens up a whole new world for questions and exploration and discovery.

But another way that you could look at this question or another take is, what don't they notice about nature? And the one thing that really stands out to me is that young children don't notice the discomforts of nature as much as adults do.

So we're just programmed as adults to be like, it's so cold outside, or, oh, it's so windy or cloudy, or all of the things that adults perceive as negative about nature.

Sure.

The children don't. Yeah, the children don't. They just see it for what it is. Oh, it's cloudy today. Very neutral on their judgments.

And it kind of retrains us and our team to think the same way. We don't. We try not to put our own adult perspectives on nature.

We try to look at it objectively because if children start hearing us talk about, you know, oh, it's so cold, I can't wait till it's nicer out, that just puts those thoughts on them that they wouldn't have otherwise. Naturally, they do not think that way. They think, let's go outside, no matter what.

And that's been really cool to see how open they are to all weather and all engagements outside. They're not persuaded differently because of a little rain. They'll run outside in the rain and find joy and not be bothered at all.

It's also, like, sometimes you're taught to fear things. Like, the fear is taught in many ways. And I think that applies to a lot of things that we try to break down at Fenner and the many things that we do.

Like, we have animals that we specifically choose that people think are scary or weird or gross. And we try to break down those misconceptions.

And everything that you're saying, too, about, like, oh, it's like, dirty or it's gross, you know, like, those are things we don't let them know. And I remember, like, talking to a preschool parent. They said, like, yeah, my kid was at a party.

There was, like, this bug, and she just went and put it outside, and all the kids were squealing and, like, screaming, like, oh. Everyone's just like, wow, she's. She's doing really well. Like, she's not scared. And I don't know.

I just think that makes such a big difference on, like, your growth in life too. Yeah. And not to appreciate approach with fear, but, like, try to understand, you know?

And in general, I think it's really cool, especially with young kiddos getting to be learning in that way. Yeah.

Yeah.

That's awesome. All right, we're gonna finish up with a lightning round. Let's do the lightning round really quick. So first person to answer. Here we go.

Out of all the creatures that wander, Fenner, which one best represents your personality?

Wood duck. Wood duck. Why the wood duck? That was. That was. That was the one that was given to me by one of our staff members that was there.

We were jokingly using codes over the.

Radio one day, and you became wood.

I became wood duck. It's. Yeah. I'm very much an extroverted person. I really like to talk to people. I really like to be out there and kind of.

I want to say, be that center of attention, but I'm more than happy to step up on that pedestal and start to talk to the crowd. So. Very vibrant colors of that wood duck being out there.

Out of all the creatures that wander, Fenner, which one has the biggest attitude?

Oh, the deer.

The deer.

That's. Yeah, they own the place. They do. They don't care. They don't. Yeah, they're. I mean, you hear of deer up north or something like that?

They have, like, at Fenner specifically, stood in my path and just stared at me like, what?

And you have to walk around him? Yeah, exactly.

You got a problem?

Yeah. City deer.

The geese at the preschool property have a pretty big attitude too.

Oh, yeah.

We get a lot more geese over it over at our site.

Out of all the creatures that wander, Fenner, which one would make the worst co worker.

Are you looking at? Because I've lightning round two of them. It's your turn. Oh, no.

Which one would make the worst co worker?

Hmm.

Gosh, Abigail, if you guys.

I don't know.

I. I don't know. A kill deer?

No. Do you guys get great.

You get them over. You get them at the. More than we get them.

I know.

So it's just different Maybe like a woodpecker. Like a piledoo woodpecker or something. Because they're so loud, you know, Just.

Like all of you at the nature.

Center, though, I'm going woodchuck on that one right there. Yeah, I think that would be the worst because, like, you know, they're just one of those that, like, destroys everything. Whatever.

Yeah, they destroy everything. And like, whatever you put out specific for something, they're going to think it's theirs.

So, like, you put out the bird food, you put out the thing you put out. You put out the. The camp. Like, put out the whole camp. Cabins for the camp kids. Like, well, I'm going to live underneath there.

So you're saying the woodchuck is the one that reaches into the refrigerator. Even though it's got your name on.

It, it takes your food. That's exactly, exactly the woodchuck.

All right, Tina, Abigail, Sam, thanks so much for coming in and talking to me today. It is Fender Nature Center. You want to get more information on them, you can stop by their website.

It is mynaturecenter.org we're going to finish up with the final question of the day. And of course, as always, I end with the same question.

If you had the ability to snap your fingers and place one thought into the collective consciousness of the entire human race, what would that thought be? Sam, we'll start with you.

I love it. I was so on point with that that if I.

If I was able to snap my fingers, put one thought into the collective consciousness, it would be that we are not separate. We're not separate from nature. We're not separate from the ecosystem, we're not separate from the animals.

We're not separate from the things that we do and the impacts that we have, there is a huge connection. And some people, for some people, spiritual, some people, it's whatever. There is a huge tangible connection. We are absolutely part of this biome.

We're part of this environment. So the things we do, the choices we make, how we recreate, how we do stuff, it matters.

If I didn't know better, I think you worked at a nature center. Just briefly. That's awesome. That's awesome. Thank you, Abigail.

Yeah, I mean, I think we've kind of touched on it a little bit already, but ultimately, like, the knowledge that you do not have to be a nature person to enjoy nature and connect with nature and to get your children to connect with nature and then the values that it, you know, comes along with that.

Yeah, definitely. From your perspective of what you do as well, all right, Tina.

I would say don't be afraid to slow down. Just always go, go, go, go.

I like that.

Like society, us people in general. But you notice, like, the animals are doing okay.

Like they're, they're, you know, they're not thinking about all these crazy things we think about all the day to day. Life just slow down because the world's gonna keep spinning. Taking a moment out in nature does help you notice that. Yeah.

Awesome. So you know how we finish it, don't you? To try to make it happen, we all snap our fingers. You ready?

Thank you so much for listening to Shining Stars: Voices of Service, Hope and Change. If you'd like to recommend an organization or an individual to be featured on this program, I'd love to hear about it. Please let me know, [email protected]. You can listen to this episode of Shining Stars along with other programs featured on the LCC Connect Network at LCCconnect.com thanks so much for listening and sharing your time with me today. I'm Daedalian. And remember, we can all contribute something good to this world. A simple smile, a kind gesture. That's all it takes to expand the power of positivity one inch further. I encourage you to find your shining star within and be the change you want to see.