On a crisp, sunny afternoon I was able to sit outside with Audubon Vermont alumn, Samantha Beck. Samantha was our Chapter Engagement and Community Science AmeriCorps Member from fall 2021-summer 2022. 

I know this question may be difficult for birders, but what is your favorite bird? 

Before I started at Audubon, I wasn't really a birder. But I love Belted Kingfishers - their mohawk, color combination, and where they live. I love to hang out by the water and watch them dive and interact with one another. Also, their beaks are just too big for their faces. 

I interject that Belted Kingfishers are also the only sexually dimorphic species in North America where the female dons more color than the male with her rust-colored "belt" that they are named for. 

Well, that makes me love them even more! 

Where did you grow up? If not Vermont, what brought you here? 

I grew up in Pennsylvania and I’ve actually never lived in Vermont. I wanted to attend UVM in high school, I basically looked at a map and chose Vermont. I had heard that there were more cows than people and loved that.

But I ended up at SUNY Plattsburgh for school and found that the landscape is very similar to Vermont. I left the Northeast for a bit and worked in Georgia, but I missed the mountains. I love the Adirondacks and Green Mountains, the rivers, the lakes… The beauty and uniqueness of this area is so special to me.

At one point I pictured myself moving out west, but my friends there say it’s so dry and I need to be near water.

Did you grow up with an environmental ethic and appreciation? Or is that something you crafted later in life?

Not really, my family is not particularly outdoorsy but I was always told to go play outside. I’m not sure what the initial draw for me was, but I was a dirty, grass-stained kid. I was really into rocks and thought I wanted to be a geologist, which I think I knew could be a job thanks to the Discovery Channel. We had a giant boulder in the corn field behind our house and I would throw smaller rocks at it to split them and look inside.

Water was and still is very important to me. My uncle had a crick behind the house that we would catch crayfish and play in. My mom called me a “river rat”.

In high school I ended up in an environmental science class, but I never knew anyone with an environmental job until much later.

Tell me a bit about your current position and work.

Right now, I have an assistantship at school that helps pay for my degree through Lake Champlain Sea Grant and Lake Champlain Research Institute. In my assistantship, I lead watershed education programs for K-12 students. We monitor streams, get kids onto Lake Champlain in our research vessel to study plankton samples and learn to use Secchi disks to measure turbidity, and introduce students to careers in watershed conservation.

I’m also a graduate student at SUNY Plattsburgh studying Ecology and Natural Resources. I’m currently working on a research project that aims to study how social identity affects environmental career pathways. Right now, I’m conducting interviews with folks who can speak to gender identity and how it affected their career journey in the environmental field. I wouldn’t be here without my mentor. During undergrad, we worked together on two research projects focused on Trust & Turnover in Collaborative Natural Resource Groups and the Impact of COVID-19 on VT Town Community Forests that resulted in publications and a presentation in Iceland on forestry. The level of mentorship was amazing!

What was your experience at Audubon like? Are there any standout moments or projects?

When I started in my AmeriCorps role, it was brand new, and I was encouraged to lean into that space and take it in a direction that interested me. In addition to chapter responsibilities and community science, I ended up doing quite a bit of education. Educating was something I was not confident in, but I wanted to try it so I could become a more effective communicator. While it was daunting at first, I grew confidence in my teaching based on the support I received at Audubon. One of these programs was Celebrate Urban Birds (CUBs) with Winooski Library. CUBs is a community science project that involves learning to identify ten common birds that can be found anywhere, observing a 50x50 foot area for a given amount of time, and submitting that data to Cornell.

Another part of my position was engaging Vermont chapters. It was rewarding to work with them – we tried to identify their needs and how I could provide support. I was able to work with Rutland Audubon Society to organize my first ever event, a spring phenology program. It was the biggest turnout for an event the chapter has ever seen! I also helped compile resources for the chapter.

My favorite memories are from Birdathon and laughing so hard with my co-AmeriCorps member in the office until my face hurt.

What stills and experience did you build at Audubon? Are any helpful in your current line of work or study?

Like I mentioned, my confidence in teaching grew exponentially during my time with Audubon and directly impacts my ability to deliver fun, place-based programming in my assistantship. Now I can effectively manage groups of all ages. I also appreciated the prep and coordinating that went into programs at Audubon and try to replicate that in my current position.

I was also able to build skills in event planning/coordinating, website management, building partnerships, compiling resources, and networking.

How did Audubon Vermont inform your next career or education steps?

After my position I realized I wanted to work in the nonprofit and/or conservation field. Just as important, I learned what I expect and want from my workplace or organization. I know now that I want the place I work to be adaptable and provide a variety of work.

Lastly, what advice do you have for folks who are currently in the Youth Conservation Leadership program or will be in the future?

• Assistantships are an option! People make them sound rare and special, but they exist. Ask about them!
• Be transparent about things not being linear – if you have a strong interest in conservation and the environment there might not be a clear path and that’s ok.
• Advocate for yourself at work.
• Read more books and keep learning.
• Lean into things that make you uncomfortable and build skills, especially when you have a support system or supportive work environment.