Ellie George: PVAS Americorps service member since Fall 2022.  Ellie shared and applied her many skills and abilities during her time with PVAS.  Ellie is deeply curious about the world and how we understand it through science and is highly skilled at sharing that with others. At one moment, Ellie (who has a degree in chemistry) might be making chromatography both interesting and relevant to a young student/camper as they explore nature.  The next moment, Ellie might be teaching about/bringing her musical abilities to the camp experience.  Through it all, Ellie excelled at guiding young students/campers in following their curiosity to get excited and think more deeply about the interconnections in the natural world around them.

John Congo: PVAS Americorps service member since March 2023. In addition to his role as a summer camp counselor, John often took initiative to care for our Animal Ambassadors! Even now, John is working on improvements for Louie the Yellow-bellied slider’s enclosure. At both summer camp and during his service in the spring, John brought and applied tons of his knowledge from past experiences to enhance the student/camper experience with awe/wonder (particularly with his knowledge about animals) and real-world connections. During the spring, John was an instructor for our watershed program and did an awesome job connecting what they were learning to the bigger picture.

Hannah Kula: PVAS Americorps service member since March 2023. Hannah came to work each day with a sunny attitude and a can-do spirit. Hannah’s dedication to ensuring the trails at our preserves were in tip-top shape is evident with how well maintained they were this summer! No matter the weather, she was outside trimming the sides of the trails and removing any hazards. Volunteers often remarked on how hard-working she was when she would lead a volunteer day. An avid runner, she was also great help during our annual 5K/10K, “This Race is for the Birds!”. Outside of her workdays outside, she connected with our ambassador animal, Esther the corn snake, and gave Esther a lot of enrichment time.

If you want to thank them for their work, please send them an email! Here are their PVAS emails, active through the end of August:

Ellie: Ellie@PotomacAudubon.org

John: John@PotomacAudubon.org

Hannah: NaturePreserves@PotomacAudubon.org