Monty Morée

1. Through your experience in leading community events and projects specific to nature-based education and public outreach, how has collaboration fueled your passion for conservation?

   
   That is a great way to put it: “fueled the passion.”  It really is a feedback loop.  When our chapter participates in local public events, we share our educational exhibits and activities alongside many other conservation-oriented organizations, and it creates a collective energy and atmosphere that is very motivating.  Over the years, we have made friends across these other organizations, as well as staff at the local schools and parks we do projects with.  Seeing the positive response from attendees and participants validates the importance of our collective messaging and engagement.  This energy is also shared among our volunteers, as we work side-by side planting native pollinator plants and trees, removing invasive plants, installing habitats, building nature trails, and the like.

2. Kids in Nature Day (KIND) is an annual event your chapter holds in an outdoor setting that draws children and their families from all over the community to come out and learn about many different wildlife and plant species. How did this event come to be and what are some of the positive impacts to the community you’ve experienced over the years from KIND?
   
   It occurred to me a few years ago that, as much as we did with conservation projects and public education, we needed to give more focus to the next generation in our local community.  Today’s kids, on average, spend 44 hours in front of a digital screen or device and less than 10 minutes playing outdoors!  So, we started a modest “Eco Kids” program in 2021, holding field trips and activities periodically for families, such as nature hikes, scavenger hunts, and pond exploration activities. This led to planning our first Kids in Nature Day festival in 2022 at the Triangle Land Conservancy’s Williamson Nature Preserve.  This has grown, as an annual event, and we are holding our fourth one this October at Lake Benson Park in Garner, which has the space for the hundreds of kids that have been attending.
   
   It has been wonderful to see the enthusiasm of the kids at these Kids in Nature Day events, as they engage in all sorts of hands-on nature activities.  In addition to the strong response from families all over the Raleigh area, it has also been great to see how many different environmental non-profits, government agencies, university clubs, and volunteers have signed on to do this event each year.  Kids in Nature Day started with fourteen exhibitors in 2022 and is now planning for up to thirty this year!
   
   Our hope is that the kids (and families) that participate will continue to get more engaged with and develop a deeper appreciation for nature, as they grow into adults.  Our planet and its fragile ecosystems depend on it!

3. Your chapter has also been involved in habitat restoration projects like building pollinator gardens, planting trees, creating interactive trails, and pulling invasive plant species. How are these projects critical in restoring the health of habitats? What are some of the projects your chapter has completed that you are most proud of?
   
   These projects all contribute to the chapter mission to “conserve and improve wildlife habitat and diversity through conservation projects and public outreach.”  Every tree or pollinator plant planted, invasives removed, or trash kept out of the watershed makes a difference.  However, the environmental demand for this vastly outnumbers the supply of chapter volunteer capacity, of course.  The real impact is the leverage that comes from increasing awareness among the larger community and showing examples of how to support and restore our natural environment and wildlife.  Much of this can be done on their own, like Doug Tallamy’s “Homegrown National Park.”
   
   It is hard to isolate one or two projects to be proud of, since all of them, big or small, contribute to the overall strategy.  An early one that stands out, though, is the native-plant shade demonstration garden at Bass Lake Park, which continues to be maintained and has educational signage and informational handouts.  There are also the 50+ birdhouses we have installed around local parks and schools, eight pollinator gardens at schools and parks, educational nature signs installed in various public locations, and, most recently, a nature trail at an elementary school with twenty-three interpretive nature signs.

4. Through all of the work the South Wake Conservationists have done under your leadership, what are some of the key issues you feel we all need to pay attention to when working towards a better future for our natural world?
   
   Complacency!  It is easy to be removed from the natural world in this busy, digital, over-scheduled world.  We need to continue to work hard at bringing people in, to do outdoor projects together, and to grow the number of people that get involved and step up to lead any aspect of our conservation work they are interested in pursuing.  Growing our conservation army!

5. What advice would you give someone wanting to become involved in conservation?
   
   Volunteer with local conservation-oriented organizations.  Meeting others that are active with this will lead to new friendships and open up a lot of opportunities to learn and see how you can make a personal impact on behalf of conservation and wildlife.

6. If anyone is living near the greater Raleigh area, how can they become involved with the South Wake Conservationists?
   
   I would start by looking at the South Wake Conservationists website and hitting the subscribe button at the bottom of the page.  There is a lot of information there about who we are, what we do, and additional resources.  Most importantly, the chapter has a lot of activities scheduled from week to week that are on our public calendar, and these are always described in a new post, which will automatically send you a notice of the upcoming event by email.  Sign up for any activity, workday, or event you are interested in.  All are welcome, and it is always free.  Also, reach out to me directly to set up a time to chat.  I always enjoy meeting new conservationists and introducing them to our chapter!
   

Bio

Monty Morée is President of the South Wake Conservationists chapter of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, serving the greater Raleigh area.  In addition, he is on the leadership team of Simple Gifts Community Garden in Apex, which grows a large variety of organic produce that goes to local food pantries, using sustainable practices, maintains a wide variety of pollinator plants, and hosts various wildlife habitats.  He is also a trained trail guide with the Triangle Land Conservancy.  Monty has a BS in Biology from Beloit College, an MS in Biological Oceanography from Texas A&M University, and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.  He is retired from a career in IT and digital transformation, has two grown sons, and lives with his wife and two dogs in Holly Springs, NC.