In Your Words is a regular feature of Mass Audubon’s Explore member newsletter. Each issue, a Mass Audubon member, volunteer, staff member, or supporter shares his or her story—why Mass Audubon and protecting the nature of Massachusetts matters to them. If you have a story to share about your connection to Mass Audubon, email [email protected] to be considered for In Your Words in a future issue! 

Growing up in the Italian Alps, I spent most of my time on my grandparents’ farm. The animals and the surrounding forests and fields provided a magical and safe place to explore nature, learn how to care for animals and crops, and understand the intricate connection between humans and the landscape they inhabit.

As an adult, most of my life experiences have had animals as a key component. In Italy, I had many jobs: working in a natural history museum, as a wildlife biologist conducting environmental impact statements, as a researcher with universities, and as a wildlife rehabilitator, where I came to know the stories of individual animals and greater realize the importance of educating people.

My first introduction to the U.S. began in 2003 when I spent several semesters interning at the Glen Helen Nature Preserve and Raptor Rehabilitation Center, part of Antioch College in Ohio. I met and married my wife in the pine forest in Glen Helen. Our ring bearer was an imprinted Barred Owl (a bird that had become habituated to humans such that it couldn’t survive in the wild) I’d trained at the raptor center, who was carried down the aisle on my mentor’s arm.

In 2006, settled in a new state, my first official job was as a teacher naturalist at Drumlin Farm in Lincoln. When I think back, what drew me to Drumlin Farm must have been the familiar combination of farm and wildlife, both of which so strongly impacted me as a child. I was, and continue to be, impressed with the ways in which Mass Audubon’s mission is so in line with my values. Those same values brought me back to Drumlin Farm in 2013 to run the Wildlife Care Center after earning my master’s and doctoral degrees in Wildlife Biology at the University of Vermont.

My work at Drumlin Farm feels more important every day as I see my own daughter grow up and connect with the animals and nature. Now that we’re embarking on a renovation of the Wildlife Care Center, I’m looking forward to using my experiences to make Drumlin an even better place for animals and education. I believe that we can profoundly help wildlife by inspiring people to take better care of the natural world.

Flavio Sutti is the Wildlife Program Coordinator at Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary.