Our Special Honored Volunteer:
BETTY KRCMA
When did you start to become involved with the Wildlife Sanctuary? What made you want to volunteer here?
When I moved to Green Bay as a first year teacher in 1988 the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary was one of the first places I went for assistance with curriculum materials. I found the education staff, which during that time was just Kim Diedrich and various part-time naturalists, to be very helpful.
As I continue with my teaching career I enjoy all the opportunities the Wildlife Sanctuary provides. This includes the Kids Autumn Adventure and various educational in-services. I remember when Green Bay was host city to the Midwest Environmental Education Conference. The Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary was one of the main meeting areas for this conference. I met wonderful environmental educators from throughout the Midwest. As a beginning teacher this was very rewarding and a huge confidence builder to share this information and the partnerships with these educators in the classroom.
I have been on the Wildlife Sanctuary volunteer board since 1991. This is also very rewarding. I enjoy hearing the great ideas from the Sanctuary staff and others from the community. Every time I come to a meeting I learn something new. Over the years I am amazed at all the wonderful ideas and events the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary hosts for the community. For example what a cool way to celebrate Autumn and raise money for a good cause by hosting “Walk For Wildlife”. I encourage everyone to check out this and some of the other wonderful community events. I have made some wonderful friendships with Sanctuary staff and volunteers. I never would of met these people if it wasn’t for the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary.
What duties are you responsible for at WLS? How often are you here?
I serve on the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary Volunteer Guild Board. I have done this since 1991. Over the years I have had various responsibilities. I mainly help with educational events like the Easter Egg Hunt, Walk For Wildlife and the Halloween Event. I try and attend as many volunteer guild meetings as I can. They meet once a month from August through May. I enjoy the meetings because there is always something new happening at the Wildlife Sanctuary. I especially appreciate all the work done in wildlife rehabilitation from the staff and volunteers. The work they do with these animals provides amazing lessons to the community. It teaches all of us how we should respect our wildlife and natural resources and we should work passionately to preserve and protect what we have.
What are some of the more unique or special jobs you have done for WLS?
I love how the Sanctuary staff allows me to get my students involved in volunteering. Many of them have had great experiences at the Wildife Sanctuary as a child. They do not realize all the “behind the scenes” work needed to organize an event or an exhibit. When they volunteer they get to meet the staff—this is very rewarding. Hopefully some of these experiences will bring these young people back to support the Sanctuary as volunteers in the future.
What area or animals do you enjoy most at WLS?
I love all the birds of prey. I am also very impressed at the extent the people in animal care and our local volunteer veterinarians go to help the injured birds of prey and release them out in the wild.
What is your most memorable moment at WLS?
It's hard to name just one. I enjoy visiting with the staff and also the great friendships I have made with volunteers. I also love taking my students to the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary for fieldtrips. Many of them are amazed at all the work done with wildlife. They talk about it weeks after the event is complete. This past fall when my students were able to hear Naturalist Avi Lourie from Haifa, Israel, it provided them with an amazing global perspective of the importance of natural resource conservation.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Several times a year I tell my students we are so lucky to have a facility like the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary in our community. The facility is accessible to everyone who visits. We have a lot to be thankful for in our community and the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary is one of those resources which makes Green Bay a special and unique place to work, live and visit.
