{"id":8258,"date":"2016-10-04T15:15:24","date_gmt":"2016-10-04T19:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=8258"},"modified":"2017-11-16T14:58:55","modified_gmt":"2017-11-16T19:58:55","slug":"in-your-words-jenny-villone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/in-your-words-jenny-villone\/","title":{"rendered":"In Your Words: Jenny Villone"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Your Words is a regular feature of Mass Audubon’s\u00a0<\/em>Explore<\/a> member 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\"Jenny

Jenny Villone at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary’s Innermost House<\/p><\/div>\n

I\u2019ve been a lover of nature my entire life. Growing up, my mother, a skilled birder, adorned our lawn with bird feeders and houses, so I quickly learned to recognize all the backyard birds. I love the idea of simply noticing the details of the world around me: catching a glimpse of a ruby-throated hummingbird or a warbler flitting around a treetop.<\/p>\n

Birds may have brought me to Mass Audubon, but over the past few years, I\u2019ve learned how far the community extends beyond that.<\/p>\n

As a volunteer, I\u2019ve weeded the strawberry patch at Drumlin Farm<\/a>, which has allowed an urbanite like me to connect with the land. My fianc\u00e9 and I have gone on countless nature walks at Wellfleet Bay<\/a>, learning about everything from scrub oaks to horseshoe crabs. And in the fall, I love spending a night at the rustic Innermost House at Ipswich River<\/a>, reveling in having a sanctuary all to myself.<\/p>\n

The older I\u2019ve become, the more I\u2019ve realized how critical the natural world is to my fulfillment and enjoyment of life. It’s inspired me to support organizations that help preserve, nurture, and champion our environment.<\/p>\n

Mass Audubon has already provided me with a myriad of remarkable experiences. And I can\u2019t wait to instill the values of Mass Audubon in my future children, encouraging them to maintain a fascination with the world around them.<\/p>\n

\n

Jenny Villone<\/a> is a Boston-based Photographer and Digital Producer and a Mass Audubon Member Since 2014.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Her article originally appeared in the Fall 2016 issue of\u00a0Mass Audubon’s\u00a0<\/em>Explore<\/a> member newsletter.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Your Words is a regular feature of Mass Audubon’s\u00a0Explore member 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. I\u2019ve been a lover of nature my entire life. Growing up, my mother, a skilled birder, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[174],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-your-words"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-29c","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9832,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/in-your-words-patricia-spence\/","url_meta":{"origin":8258,"position":0},"title":"In Your Words: Patricia Spence","author":"Ryan D.","date":"September 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"In Your Words is a regular feature of Mass Audubon\u2019s Explore member 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. My love for exploring nature probably originated from summers spent\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":"Children enjoying the trails at Boston Nature Center","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/09\/dwp_mass-audubon_bns_062717_807_fi-e1506614879924.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\/09\/dwp_mass-audubon_bns_062717_807_fi-e1506614879924.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/09\/dwp_mass-audubon_bns_062717_807_fi-e1506614879924.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11617,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/in-your-words-libby-herland\/","url_meta":{"origin":8258,"position":1},"title":"In Your Words: Libby Herland","author":"Ryan D.","date":"September 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In Your Words is a regular feature of Mass Audubon\u2019s\u00a0Explore\u00a0member newsletter. 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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. 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