Audubon Community Nature Center is able to connect adults and children to the wonders of nature thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who log thousands of volunteer hours every year. Audubon is recognizing its volunteers at a volunteer recognition picnic on Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Nature Center. Some of those singled out for special recognition are pictured.

Audubon Community Nature Center staff are looking forward to recognizing the many volunteers who help make Audubon a unique part of the community.

At a volunteer recognition picnic luncheon on Saturday, Sept. 12, from 1 to 3 p.m., Audubon will celebrate those who reached significant milestones, ranging from 100 to 6,000 hours of service.

Volunteers work in every department at ACNC, taking care of the trails, gardens, and buildings; performing data entry, store inventory, animal care, and cleaning; leading nature walks, working festivals and events, providing programs and outreach; in addition to serving on the board and other administrative committees – and more.

Thanks to its volunteers, Audubon can care for its animals, property and facilities and provide hundreds of events and programs. In a non-pandemic year, Audubon’s education programs include close to 20,000 student contacts that provide opportunities for them to learn about the natural world, and almost 30,000 students and visitors come to the grounds.

During Audubon’s 2018 – 2019 fiscal year, 324 individuals logged 11,467 volunteer work hours.

Volunteers who will be recognized for reaching milestones in the number of recorded hours they have contributed are Thom Armella for more than 6,000 volunteer hours, Terry LeBaron for more than 4,000 volunteer hours, and Pat Brininger and Don Weber for more than 3,000 volunteer hours.

Those achieving more than 1,000 hours are Bonnie Bowen, Karen Inwood, Carol Samuelson, Don Sharp and Nancy White. Elaine Crossley, Dean Frentz and Elaine Frentz reached more than 500 hours.

Reg Boutwell, Alan Brown, Karen Lobe, Jennifer Pierce, Rick Sandberg, Donald Watts and Bob Williams attained more than 250 hours.

Sonna Alm, Wendy Bale, Mary Beckerink, David Bull, Willow Fodor, Marty Grunzweig, Pamela Johnson, Robert Klebacha, Joseph O’Hara, Isabella Pecina, Logan Pecina, and Jarod Smith will be recognized for reaching more than 100 hours of recorded volunteer time.

A number of the volunteers are registered with RSVP, the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program.

The picnic event will take place outdoors, and guests will be asked to adhere to safe distancing recommendations, including wearing a face covering when physical distance cannot be maintained.

The luncheon is free for all current ACNC volunteers. Non-volunteers are welcome for $8 per person, $6 for Nature Center members.

Reservations are required for everyone, with payment, if applicable, by Friday, Sept. 4. Volunteers can call the Nature Center at 569-2345 to register. Non-volunteers can call or register online by going to AudubonCNC.org/Programs and clicking on “Current Schedule.”

The Audubon Community Nature Center is located at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown and Warren.