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This volunteer is clearing trails for you at Waterman Conservation Center and beyond

Connie McKinney
·3 min read

When storms topple trees onto the trails at the Waterman Conservation Education Center in Apalachin, Jerry Michael of Chenango Bridge grabs his chainsaw and gets to work clearing the trails.

When wooden boardwalks need to be built, Michael will plan the project, organize a work party and then join the crew to install the boards, swing a hammer and pound nails.

When new volunteers visit Waterman, they’re greeted by Michael, who will mentor them and help find them a volunteer role that fits in with their interests, talents and experience.

Michael has done all these tasks and more in his nine years with Waterman, which promotes conservation and environmental education. Waterman also maintains six nature preserves, including the main site on Hilton Road in Apalachin, Brick Pond in Owego, Hiawatha Island, the IBM Glen, the Apalachin Marsh and the Pettus Hill Preserve in West Windsor.

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“I find it very stimulating,” he said of his volunteer work with Waterman. “It aligns with my personal interest in the outdoors and education.”

Jerry Michael of Chenango Bridge puts in between 300 and 400 hours of volunteer service to the Waterman Conservation Education Center annually. He’s now in his ninth year of volunteering at the nature center.
Jerry Michael of Chenango Bridge puts in between 300 and 400 hours of volunteer service to the Waterman Conservation Education Center annually. He’s now in his ninth year of volunteering at the nature center.

A forester who runs a tree farm in Whitney Point, Michael also serves on the Waterman Board of Directors. He’s now in his ninth year on the board and the sixth year as chairman of the buildings and grounds committee.

“Forestry has been my avocation for 50 years,” he said. “I expected when I joined the board to be primarily there to give advice and counsel on forest management. But my role has expanded since then to cover a much broader sphere of responsibility.”

Michael’s responsibilities include identifying capital needs of the center and maintaining equipment, he said.

“A lot of it is planning and supervision,” he said. “I am also a very hands-on guy.”

He helps clear trails when trees fall after storms. He also recruits other volunteers who help with projects such as clearing brush, cleaning culverts and replacing broken boards in wooden boardwalks.

“I don’t just recruit people. I become part of the work party,” Michael said.

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Michael also trains volunteers and will call or meet them at the center to find the right spot for them.

“We value our volunteers,” he said.

Michael also served as a mentor for Waterman’s executive director, Christopher Audette, when Audette joined the organization in 2018.

“Jerry was really my introduction and welcome wagon to the Waterman Center,” Audette said. “He’s one of the people that really brought me up to speed and introduced me to the organization.”

Audette and an office manager are the only paid staff at Waterman. The center relies on approximately 100 volunteers to do everything from providing educational programming in local schools to weed-whacking the trails, he said.

“Volunteers mean absolutely everything to us,” he said. “Our volunteers are the people that hike here and enjoy our programs and appreciate what we do. They provide the labor that is critical for us to provide the services.”

Many volunteers perform more than one job including Michael, Audette said.

“He’s fulfilled every role in our organization from the very top of our management to fixing the bathrooms,” Audette said of Michael. “He’s done it all.”

More about Jerry Michael

Home: Chenango Bridge

Hometown: Binghamton

Career: Retired from IBM. Also runs a tree farm in Whitney Point.

Family: Wife of 65 years, Alvaire; two grown children and five grandchildren.

How to Help: Waterman is looking for more volunteers to help with everything from mowing lawns using a riding mower to driving a boat to Hiawatha Island for special events. To volunteer, contact the center by email by going to www.watermancenter.org/contact or call the center at 607-625-2221.

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Waterman in Apalachin served by longtime volunteer Jerry Michael