Al has been volunteering with Loudoun Wildlife since 2019.  He started by assisting his wife, Jenny Erickson, with the Amphibian Monitoring Program and soon began to help maintain paths at JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary.  Al does the mowing, weedeating and some brush cut-back along the paths, and last year began doing the same at the Dulles Greenway Wetlands.  Many of our programs benefit from Al’s work because it gives easy access to areas for stream monitoring, amphibian monitoring, bird counts and walks, and nature walks.

Al Erickson

Al likes maintaining the paths because he gets to explore the same place across different seasons and see “how different the same section of woods are, the animals, plants and the views – seeing the changes come and go.”  It helps him “appreciate how much different beauty there is in the cycles of life.”

Al admits “It’s not quiet running the lawnmower, but I find it both soothing and refreshing. The instant gratification of the look, and smell, of the fresh cut trails makes me super happy. I feel a great sense of satisfaction knowing more people can enjoy walking through the woods on a well trimmed path.”

Everyone who uses the paths at JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary and the Dulles Greenway Wetlands greatly appreciates all Al Erickson does to help us have an enjoyable time in nature!  Thank you to Al and to all our volunteers for creating a place where people and wildlife thrive together.

To protect the environmentally sensitive habitat and rare species at JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary, it is not open to the public except with prior permission from Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy.  The Dulles Greenway Wetlands is private property and is not open to the public except during Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy walks and citizen science projects where pre-registration is required.  Thank you for understanding and helping protect these important Loudoun natural heritage areas.

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