LOOKING FOR A DREAM JOB? THINK OUTSIDE THE OFFICE
STORY BY Regina Mc Carthy PHOTOGRAPHY BY Lisa Shires
Many of us can relate to the pleasure of being outdoors while camping, hiking or just taking a stroll around the
neighborhood. The outdoors makes us feel alive, restored and somehow connected to something larger and more profound.
Yet in between those exhilarating experiences in fresh air, we can sometimes forget to make time to be outside. The typical workweek is 40 hours – for many of us about 38 percent of our waking time. And the environments we work in – office or studio, shop or warehouse, classroom or home – can be draining.
The concept of “nature deficit disorder” was introduced in 2005 by a writer who worried that children didn’t spend enough time outdoors. The U.S. Forest Service reports that spending time in nature has positive results on blood pressure, cholesterol and attention deficit disorder. Moreover, it improves one’s overall outlook on life. Studies show that even a brisk 30-minute walk three times a week can help symptoms of depression more than even antidepressant medications.
Most of us are stuck inside during our workday, but in Howard County a handful of women are lucky enough to work outdoors. We asked them about their jobs and how we can join in the fun.
Ali Schiller, Terrapin Adventures
Ali Schiller, 24 years old, is an assistant manager at Terrapin Adventures, an outdoors adventure company that offers activities like zip lines and high ropes courses. The Savage Mill-based company also puts together group and corporate team building events that include biking, kayaking, spelunking and backpacking trips.
Being outdoors has always been a part of Schiller’s life. She was a Girl Scout as a kid and attended the Outdoor Leadership School in Wyoming and Utah during college. While out west, Ali went on a 90-day backpacking trip that included white water rafting, kayaking and climbing, followed by 26 days in the canyons. These challenges taught her to appreciate being in nature – as well as being with other people. She also realized that embracing the physical challenges presented by the outdoors can be empowering. Her own adventures, she says, “solidified my love for being outdoors and being in a leadership role –to empower others.”
Schiller has been assistant manager at Terrapin Adventures for three years, and loves almost every moment of it. Her job entails leading groups, both young and adult, through obstacle courses and harnessing participants into zip lines, then watching them fly through the trees. “There are challenges with weather. The cold winters take a toll on you, but so does the heat. We continually drink a lot of water and take breaks.”
“It’s a challenge every day,” Schiller says. “You never know what you are going to get. We have groups like the Girl Scouts, youth groups, bachelorette parties and big corporate companies who come out to team build. We shake things up a bit. I like that we can offer that experience to them.”
While outdoor adventures have historically been dominated by men, women have created space for themselves, especially over the past few years, Schiller says. “Once people realize that they can do these things, it’s pretty empowering.”
Join Ali Schiller: Visit terrapinadventures.com to see what activities are available. Schiller recommends the Murder Mystery event in July or the Zombie Apocalypse training in October. Activities are available for all age ranges and groups of varying sizes. Call 301-725-1313 for more information.
Stacey Yankee, Robinson Nature Center
A transplant all the way from Michigan, Stacey Yankee is the dedicated director of the Robinson Nature Center – the first of its kind in Howard County. Located in
Columbia, the two-year-old center was designed to help Howard County residents of all ages to connect with the natural world. This is accomplished through the work of public programs, school field trips and community partner groups.
The nature center has garnered support from its surrounding community, in part due to Stacey’s efforts. In addition to creating community partnerships and managing a staff of 28, Yankee is also passionate about being outdoors.
“Nature has a way of refreshing your spirit,” she says. “Our everyday problems don’t seem as grand as when we are indoors.” Yankee says that being outdoors gives her a sense of lightness. “It releases the tightness you feel in your mind and your body. Listening to the birds, seeing the trees, hearing the river and the rapids – when I go outside, it’s a release of tension.”
For Yankee, every day is an adventure at the Robinson Nature Center. One day she may spot animals she’s never seen before, another day, she may be developing a new educational program for the center. The flora and fauna in Maryland are different from Yankee’s home state. “In Michigan, we have the Great Lakes. In Maryland, we have fresh water rivers meeting the brackish bay, which then finds the ocean.”
Yankee will often bring critters like horseshoe crabs and oysters to the nature center for a kind of show-and-tell. “Touching the prehistoric looking shell and tail of the horseshoe crabs, smelling the saltiness of the oysters and touching their squishy insides is fascinating,” she says. Horseshoe crabs now live in the nature center’s “touch tank,” a place where visitors can get a hands-on experience with various animals from our region.
Yankee cherishes the nature that winds its way through the center. She can hear the rushing water of the Middle Patuxent River which trails through the property, she can hear the drum of the pileated woodpeckers in the woods, and occasionally spots box turtles on the property. “To be able to experience the beauty of the grounds and its wild inhabitants on a daily basis is a privilege for me,” Yankee says. “To be able to share it with the public is an honor.” Join Stacey: Visit the Robinson Nature Center, located at 6692 Cedar Lane, Columbia. Hours of operation are Wednesday-Saturday, 9-5 and noon-5 on Sundays. Free admission on Wednesdays. The center is also available for birthday parties and field trips. Volunteer opportunities are also available. Call 410- 313-0400 to earn more about the center.
Nora Crist, Clark’s Elioak Farm
The responsibilities required to take care of farm animals – think feeding and watering at dawn and dusk, milking, pasturing and even delivering babies – isn’t an appealing proposition to many 20-somethings. Yet it’s what keeps Nora Crist going. The daughter of Martha Clark, owner of the 7th generation Clark’s Elioak Farm, Crist manages the petting farm and operates a nearby produce stand, which includes a community supported agriculture (CSA) component. In addition, Crist manages the farm’s grass-fed beef and pork production.
On a typical morning, after she has checked on her animals, Crist will work in the garden, harvesting the vegetables ready for picking before the sun has a chance to beat down on them for too long. Then she’ll head to the petting farm to make sure the staff is ready to meet the day’s visitors. Afterward, she’ll head back to the garden for the ongoing task of weeding, or managing the spindly tomato plants with trellises. By early afternoon, Crist will be busy getting her produce stand ready for business.
Crist, who graduated with a basic agriculture and natural resources degree from the University of Delaware, says farm life comes as second nature to her. “I grew up on the farm, playing outside constantly.” Crist assumed she would work with animals when she grew up, but is surprised to find herself back on the family farm.
Join Nora: Visit Nora Crist’s farm stand or sign up for her CSA. Plant a garden, or bring your kids out to Clark’s Elioak petting farm for an up close and personal introduction to friendly farm animals. The petting farm is open April – November. Visit clarklandfarm. com for details and hours of operation.
Betsy McMillion, Patapsco Heritage Greenway
The Patapsco Heritage Greenway is a nonprofit organization formed in the 1990s with a mission to preserve and protect the history, heritage and natural resources of the Patapsco River Valley. Betsy McMillion has worked with the Patapsco Heritage Greenway, or the PHG, since 2004. She was named the director of a program called the Stream Watch in 2005 and was tasked with creating and operating the PHG’s environmental programs.
Stream Watch volunteers adopt local streams or sections of rivers and keep an eye on them for problems and concerns. Now more than 13,000 volunteers watch streams in three counties. McMillion
has also organized close to 250 stream cleanups and is responsible for removing more than 388 tons of trash and debris. The PHG has also planted and maintained 263 trees, and removed more than 18,000 pounds of invasive plants.
McMillion loves the outdoors – mainly because of the people she meets there, she says. “Outdoor people are almost always conservationists and I love being around those kind of people.”
Seeing a tangible difference after a day’s work also inspires her. For both McMillion and her volunteers, she says, “It’s so gratifying to see the difference you made – even in just a few hours.” A treeless area will suddenly have a new grove, or a stream full of litter becomes clean and pristine, she says.
Working around Mother Nature’s agenda also has its challenges. Summer, with its extreme temperatures and insects is trying, she says. “And ticks are at their worst.”
McMillion recalls the first time she did a stream assessment with members from her team. “I had to walk down the hill through a patch of invasive multiflora rose to get to the stream,” she says. “I slipped and fell into it and my hair was caught in the prickly bush. I remember laughing and yelling to my colleagues until they could undo me.”
Join Betsy McMillion: The Patapsco Heritage Greenway is always looking for volunteers and promises a job for anyone interested. Call 410-480-0824 to learn about volunteer opportunities.
Sue Muller, Maryland Department of Natural Resources
While Sue Muller’s official title is natural resource technician, she likes to call herself the Howard County coordinator for the Maryland Amphibian and Reptile Atlas. The Maryland Amphibian and Reptile Atlas, or MARA, is Muller’s big project – and passion.
The MARA is a five-year project of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Natural History Society of Maryland with a goal of tracking and mapping amphibian and reptile species across the state. Muller manages the Howard County component.
According to the MARA website, the project captures data to provide a baseline of information about the state’s amphibians and reptiles, leading to effective conservation strategies. And all the information is gathered by volunteers.
Muller recruits and trains Howard County volunteers. “I have 500 volunteers who are learning about the value of certain animals that belong to our ecosystem,” she says. Part of the pleasure she derives from her job is seeing people connect with nature. That goes for children and adults. “If you put a little effort in, you’d be surprised to see how interested kids will become in nature.
On an average summer day, Muller starts early – probably around 6:30 a.m. – to beat the heat. She starts her day with a “natural resource inventory,” visiting undeveloped parkland in the county to record all the animals she sees. She’s particularly interested, of course, in creatures that can be included in the MARA.
Occasionally in the evening, Muller and her volunteers will visit ponds and wetland areas to record the calls of frogs and toads. On a good, night, she says, you can hear a half dozen different species crying and croaking in a single wetland.
Muller always dreamed of protecting the natural environment. “All I want to do is be outdoors. If it’s daylight, I’m outside,” she says. What drives her? “It’s the belief that every day I can make a difference. I feel that I have the power to educate people and connect them to nature.”
Join Sue Muller: Visit MarylandNature. org. If you see a reptile or amphibian while you are out on a nature walk or trail, take a photograph and email it to the MARA team. MARA data sheets are also available for recording any spotting.
Bringing it home
Rerouting a career to work outdoors isn’t a realistic option for most of us. Luckily, there are many ways to incorporate the region’s bountiful natural attractions into day-to-day life.
If you are stuck in an office all day, find 10-15 minutes to get outside – to walk or enjoy your lunch. Another way to “get your green on” is by planting a garden. The responsibility of tending to flowers and plants – eventually even harvesting your own produce – will motivate you to be outdoors in the evenings and on weekends.
Don’t become a victim of nature deficit disorder when there’s plenty of nature all around. *
