2024 Volunteer of the Year

Photo of volunteer Mari Bell wearing a volunteer khaki vest holding award plaque with trees in the background by Bengtson/USFWS

Mari Bell is Tamarac's 2024 Volunteer of the Year. She's an environmental education leader and a Wild Wednesday leader (summer program for young children). Mari has shared her knowledge and enthusiasm about the natural world with hundreds of children over the last couple of years on subjects including loons, wild winter adaptations, decomposers and pollinators. She is best known for her elaborate lesson on monarch butterflies which is absolutely magical! Mari also managed the No Child Left Inside Grant for the Friends of Tamarac which was a huge workload. This grant provided the environmental education team the tools and knowledge to be inclusive of all students who visit the refuge. Thank you so much Mari for your time and talents!