{"id":1267,"date":"2012-11-19T08:00:36","date_gmt":"2012-11-19T12:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.massaudubon.org\/blogs\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=1267"},"modified":"2012-11-19T08:00:36","modified_gmt":"2012-11-19T12:00:36","slug":"giving-thanks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/giving-thanks\/","title":{"rendered":"Giving Thanks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>In honor of Thanksgiving, we asked our staff what makes them thankful. Below are a selection of the responses:<\/p>\n

We are thankful for\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

The opportunity to do what we love<\/strong>\u2014and love what we do<\/strong>\u2014every day.<\/p>\n

All the committed, hard-working volunteers<\/strong> that allow us to do so much more than we would be able to on our own.<\/p>\n

Our generous\u00a0members and donors<\/strong> (individuals, foundations, corporations, state and local government) who support our work year after year and make all that we do possible.<\/p>\n

Living in a beautiful part of the country<\/strong>, where so many people care about the environment and do their part to protect the natural beauty and wildlife around them.<\/p>\n

The birding community<\/strong>. You can go anywhere in the world, find the birders there, and instantly have friends who share an appreciation for birds and nature. Makes you feel like you could find a home, just about anywhere.<\/p>\n

Landowners and land donors<\/strong> who have given generously to Mass Audubon over the years and created a first-rate system of varied and beautiful wildlife sanctuaries.<\/p>\n

All of the parents<\/strong> who support their child\u2019s growth by sending them to summer camp; all the campers<\/strong> who step out of their comfort zone to try something new; and all of the young adults<\/strong> who dedicate their summers to camp in order to enrich the lives of a younger generation.<\/p>\n

The fantastic return of wild turkeys<\/strong> to our fields and forests, an amazing recovery that human beings directly facilitated. It\u2019s an encouraging reminder that our incredible ability to alter our environment can be used for good!<\/p>\n

Nature<\/strong>, of course! As E.E. Cummings wrote: \u201cWe thank you\u2026for this most amazing day, for leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being able to connect with the next generation<\/strong>; to help spark their innate curiosity about the natural world; and to be inspired by the passion.<\/p>\n

Living in a state with so much great local agriculture<\/strong>, from pumpkin patches and cranberry bogs to apple orchards and local farms.<\/p>\n

The opportunity to spend time appreciating and understanding the world we live<\/strong> in and helping other people to do the same.<\/p>\n

The many coastal communities<\/strong> that value and protect their shore-nesting birds.<\/p>\n

The changing seasons<\/strong>, which remind us of nature\u2019s beauty and the varied landscapes of Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

White-throated sparrows<\/strong>\u2014a declining shrubland species\u2014returning to yards to sing their \u201cOh, sweet Can-a-da!\u201d song every November.<\/p>\n

Laura Johnson<\/strong>, our outgoing president, for all that she has given to Mass Audubon over the last 14 years.\u00a0Her leadership, vision, and passion have given us a strong foundation upon which to build as we move into our very promising future.<\/p>\n

Henry Tepper<\/strong>, our incoming president,\u00a0whose lifelong commitment to conservation and longstanding connection to Mass Audubon will put him (and us) in good stead as we work together to protect the nature of Massachusetts for people and wildlife<\/p>\n

A happy and healthy Thanksgiving from everyone here at Mass Audubon! And \u00a0let us know what you are thankful for this year!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Photo\u00a0\u00a9 Stephanie Lin<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In honor of Thanksgiving, we asked our staff what makes them thankful. Below are a selection of the responses: We are thankful for\u2026 The opportunity to do what we love\u2014and love what we do\u2014every day. All the committed, hard-working volunteers that allow us to do so much more than we would be able to on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-kr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14030,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-thankful-for-farmers\/","url_meta":{"origin":1267,"position":0},"title":"Take 5: Thankful for Farmers","author":"Ryan D.","date":"May 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Unsurprisingly, we have a robust collection of beautiful farm landscape photos from our annual Picture This: Your Great Outdoors photo contest, so this week we thought we'd share a few of these serene, bucolic shots, along with a special and heartfelt thank you to our local farmers\u2014including those at our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Take 5"","block_context":{"text":"Take 5","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/take-5\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A misty sunrise at Pilot Grove Farm in Stow, MA \u00a9 Elliot Gilfix","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/05\/2676Elliot_Gilfix12802.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/05\/2676Elliot_Gilfix12802.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/05\/2676Elliot_Gilfix12802.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/05\/2676Elliot_Gilfix12802.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10146,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/thankful-for-young-climate-leaders\/","url_meta":{"origin":1267,"position":1},"title":"Thankful For Young Climate Leaders","author":"Daniel Brown","date":"November 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"As we head into Thanksgiving during this tumultuous political era, I find myself reflecting back on the challenges and progress of the past year, both close to home and around the globe. It\u2019s easy to get discouraged by the nightly news, but something that continues to inspire me is the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Climate"","block_context":{"text":"Climate","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/climate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Western Massachusetts Youth Climate Summit \/ Phil Doyle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/11\/climateleader600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/11\/climateleader600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/11\/climateleader600.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6591,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-wondrous-wild-turkeys\/","url_meta":{"origin":1267,"position":2},"title":"Take 5: Wondrous Wild Turkeys","author":"Rosemary","date":"November 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so it's time to be thankful for turkeys. While most livestock originates from Europe, Africa, and Asia, turkeys are native to the Americas and were domesticated by ancient Mesoamericans. Therefore, our wild turkeys are close relatives. Enjoy\u00a0five portraits of wild turkeys from past Photo\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Take 5"","block_context":{"text":"Take 5","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/take-5\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/11\/infographic_turkey.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":409,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/welcoming-the-governor\/","url_meta":{"origin":1267,"position":3},"title":"Welcoming the Governor","author":"Hillary T.","date":"July 18, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Tuesday, July 17 was no ordinary day for the campers at Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in Natick. When they arrived at camp, they were told there would be a special visitor and the crew quickly sprang into action creating welcome banners. Who was the visitor? None other than Governor Deval Patrick.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wildlife Sanctuaries"","block_context":{"text":"Wildlife Sanctuaries","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/wildlife-sanctuaries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/07\/GovPatrickatBroadmoor_JoyMarzolf-5_small.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13643,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/in-your-words-nina-swett\/","url_meta":{"origin":1267,"position":4},"title":"In Your Words: Nina Swett","author":"Ryan D.","date":"March 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"In Your Words is a regular feature of Mass Audubon\u2019s\u00a0Explore\u00a0member newsletter. Each issue, a Mass Audubon member, volunteer, staff member, or supporter shares his or her story\u2014why Mass Audubon and protecting the nature of Massachusetts matters to them. In the Spring 2020 issue, we interviewed three counselors from Mass Audubon's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "In Your Words"","block_context":{"text":"In Your Words","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/in-your-words\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Nina Swett (bottom right) enjoying some downtime with fellow counselors","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/03\/Nina-and-Jackson-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/03\/Nina-and-Jackson-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/03\/Nina-and-Jackson-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/03\/Nina-and-Jackson-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1267\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}