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New Volunteer Coordinator

Jenny Spitler has taken on the role of Volunteer Coordinator as part of her position as Administrative Assistant for Merry Lea.  Jenny worked as an Environmental Education Intern at Merry Lea last year and previously was a Science Specialist for Southwest Allen County Schools.  Jenny also has an interest in sustainable farming.  She is starting a small farm near Loon Lake where she lives with her husband and daughter. They sell their produce at the Columbia City Farmer's Market.  Jenny is also helping to form a local association for farmers called Northeast Indiana Homegrown.

Jenny is looking forward to getting to know many of the volunteers and she looks forward to working more closely with many she taught along side while she was interning. 

Summer Volunteers take on Special Projects

Farmstead Gardens
Mary Bontrager is coordinating all of the work for the gardens at the Farmstead.  This is a major undertaking and she and her husband Al have put in many long hot hours.  The gardens are very important because they are part of the curriculum for the Fall Farmcraft programs. 

Butterfly Garden
Marla McAfee is putting her time and skills into managing our long neglected butterfly garden.  This garden is outside of the Learning Center at Merry Lea.  Visitors can enjoy it from the windows or stroll through it as they explore the grounds.  It has needed a facelift for many years.  I am sure the Butterflies will appreciate it, as well.

Bird Banding
Natalya Bender is donating her time to help with our bird banding research this summer.  Several other volunteers have also come to help on different days.  This means getting to Merry Lea at 6am and helping to take birds out of nets and collect data on them for six hours. 

Summer Camp
Stacy Shriner is a school teacher in Arizona who is spending a month of her vacation at Merry Lea volunteering with a variety of projects.  In late June she helped with our summer day camp program.  Students came each day during the week to explore Merry Lea and the surrounding areas through canoeing, hiking, and activities.

If you are interested in volunteering at Merry Lea, please contact Jenny Spitler at jennyds@goshen.edu or call (260) 799-5869.