Meet Linda Woodard

January 15, 2009

Topics: Scarborough Marsh | People Profiles

 

The following article appeared in the May 2008 Maine Audubon eNews.

 

Linda Woodard is one busy woman. If she's not training volunteers to lead nature explorations or helping a group of kids get up close and personal with plants, she's ensuring everything runs smoothly as manager of the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center or leading a Maine Audubon birding trip. April 2008 an exceptionally busy month for Linda as this environmental educator accepted an award from the EPA and readied her team for Maine Audubon's annual Birdathon.

At this point, it's hard for us to imagine Maine Audubon without Linda and for Linda to picture her life without Maine Audubon. But believe it or not, this connection might not have been made if it weren't for a newspaper listing placed 25 years ago ...

Childhood: "time to prepare the soil"

Linda's parents fostered her love of the outdoors at an early age-make that a very early age. "They took me camping when I was 2 months old," Linda laughed, recalling many outdoor trips to Maine while growing up. But nature wasn't just a summertime activity for her family. Her parents brought Linda to the window to see birds at the feeder, subscribed her to Ranger Rick, and gave her the freedom to explore and build forts in the woods near her home in Springfield, Mass.

On whether these years were influential in developing her interest, appreciation, and care for the environment, Linda quotes Rachel Carson-"The years of early childhood are the time to prepare the soil." As a Maine Audubon educator, Linda's work has been dedicated to putting these words into action.

But Linda hasn't always been an educator. The first stop on her career path was as a research biologist, growing cells in a laboratory. Though she liked the job she wasn't happy being behind four walls all day with her eyes pressed to a microscope. She wanted something a little bigger in scale.

That's when her partner, Richard "Turk" Duddy, found a newspaper article calling for volunteers to lead walks at Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center. Linda jumped right in and knew almost instantly that that she had found what she was looking for. "I just got so interested in it," she said. "It joined my two passions-nature and talking to people."

In a short time she earned her teaching certificate, left the lab, and was teaching high school science. When a positioned opened up at Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center, Linda said the decision was a no-brainer.

Scarborough Marsh--a wonderful classroom

That was 20 years ago. Since then, Linda has helped thousands of people connect to the outstanding ecosystem of Scarborough Marsh. "It's just a unique place," Linda said on what makes the marsh such an engaging classroom. "As a teacher, I can give my students something for all the senses-rubbing algae between their fingers, hearing the wet marsh squish under their feet, seeing snowy egrets on the bank, smelling the saltwater ... even tasting the cattail roots!"

Linda also likes the marsh's broad appeal. It brings in expert birders along with families looking to go on a canoe paddle. No matter the audience, she said, they all end up captivated and curious-especially children. "They want to investigate every hole and every tree," she said. "All of the interest but none of the inhibition of adults. I love that spark."

Arguably the best asset Scarborough Marsh has to offer is its birds, Linda said. With its importance to a wide number of bird species, Maine's large contiguous saltmarsh is being considered as a globally Important Bird Area-and is hands down Linda's favorite spot to go birding.

"With the spring migration there's something new every day," she said of the marsh's sparrows, herons, sandpipers, and more. "It's like seeing old friends come back."

"An easy A" turned lifetime passion

Linda got her start at birding in a college ornithology class. She heard it would be "an easy A" but ended up with more than she bargained for. Now she is an expert birder, a longtime Maine Audubon trip leader, and a perennial participant in Maine Audubon's Birdathon, which starts this year on Friday, May 16. For the fund-raiser, teams of birders across the state get pledges for each bird they can identify in a period of 24 hours.

Pledges from Linda's seven-member team, the Mighty Marsh Muckers, will go toward repairs at Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center, which is still recovering from a severe flood last spring.

Linda keeps the Muckers' strategy close to the vest but reveals they will be hitting annual bird hotspots, owling at night, and making sure they pack plenty of food. "Eating is a very important part of all this," she laughed. "We need to keep our energy up. We don't get a lot of sleep."

Grinning, Linda admitted there is a hint of competition between teams (take tips from other teams with a grain of salt, the birder advises), but said the real focus is on camaradarie, fun, and contributing to an effort they all care about.

Work Worth Meriting

Amid preparing for Birdathon and getting Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center ready to open on Memorial Day, Linda had to take a side trip in April 2008.

On Earth Day, Linda traveled to Faneuil Hall in Boston to receive the EPA's Environmental Merit Award with other members of the Southern Maine Water Festival's planning committee. For eight years, Linda has helped coordinate organizations in participating in the annual May event, which gives middle-schoolers a day of hands-on activities to teach them how to have a positive impact on water quality.

"I'm really thrilled they chose to honor this group of dedicated environmental educators," Linda said.

Of which she is one. Thank goodness for that newspaper ad.