Hi! I’m Kenzie and my fellowship this summer is with the Grange Insurance Audubon Center! I’ll be a senior at Ohio State this fall, studying Geography (specializing in Environment and Society) with minors in Nonprofit Management and History!

So this week has truly been a blur before my fellowship even got started. I moved into a new apartment all by myself, learned how to drive around Columbus for the first time, and spent two hours at Target (clearly I should not go there unsupervised). Besides spending my first summer away from home and navigating a full-time position for the first time, there were so many changes I was nervous about leading into this week.

But from my first steps into the GIAC, I have felt incredibly welcomed and valued by everyone. When I arrived, they took me to my very own desk with the most gorgeous view of the Scioto Metro Audubon Park and downtown Columbus. Also awaiting me were pollinator-themed cupcakes and most importantly, a set of binoculars and a bird guide for the many species of birds that come by to say hi. Besides getting to set up my cool new desk and learning to identify my first couple of birds, I’ve gotten to work with each of the staff members on a one-on-one basis–from filling the bird feeders with the Conservation manager and setting up brand-new phones with the Office and Finance manager, to helping with education programs and summer camp planning with our educators and meeting with the Executive Director. Through these projects, meetings, and conversations, I could tell that each staff member felt a deep commitment to the organization’s mission to inspire a passion and stewardship for the nature around us.

As the closest of 41 Audubon Centers across the nation to a downtown metropolitan area, the GIAC has a critical role to play in recognizing and engaging people with birds and nature in an urban setting. When we think of diverse species and wilderness, we often think of faraway places or national parks, but in doing so we fail to connect to the nature that is right in our backyards. Located along the Scioto River, the grounds that the GIAC currently occupies used to be a site for impound lots, factories, and all kinds of activities that created pollution and harmed local waterways and wildlife. But now, for ten years, the GIAC has protected birds and other wildlife, inspired many Central Ohioans to learn about and advocate for nature, and so much more.

However, this complete reversal of a place from a site of pollution to a site of protection would not have happened without individuals who embraced change. It is this nature of change that the GIAC is founded upon. For example, the building itself reflects the area’s industrial past within its architecture while including green technology such as permeable concrete or water-saving measures to show the organization’s dedication to conservation.

The nature of change is also about understanding the resilience and adaptability in our environments and ecosystems, which experience change every single day. There’s new weather, new seasons, new resources, new life, and new challenges. These changes are necessary for an ecosystem to sustain itself, but change is also necessary for organizations and individuals to keep moving forward, too. Embracing the nature of change means realizing that plants, birds, and people won’t grow and thrive if everything stayed the same.

There’s so many more new things waiting for me as I work towards my own goals as well as the GIAC’s mission this summer. I don’t know everything that’s ahead just yet, but by seeing change as both a good and necessary experience, I’m excited for whatever comes my way!