Wildlands Trust AmeriCorps Members:

Alex Etkind, Land Steward                
aetkind@wildlandstrust.org

A Cohasset native, Alex Etkind spent much of his time growing up exploring the forests and coastlines of Massachusetts’ South Shore. While he originally studied philosophy in college, several years of living and working in the mountains of New Mexico prompted him to delve deeper into the environmental sciences. Upon returning to Massachusetts Alex worked on whale watching boats and pursued his education at the University of Massachusetts Boston where he majored in Environmental, Earth & Ocean Sciences. While completing his degree at UMass Boston, he was a member of the Green Boston Harbor Project in which he monitored invasive marine species and worked on research surveying the biodiversity of coastal salt marsh habitats on Boston Harbor. As a Land Steward with Wildlands Trust Alex hopes to gain valuable experience in the field and is excited to be able to work towards land conservation in Southeastern Massachusetts. When not enjoying the great outdoors, Alex often indulges in his love of music, playing percussion in a band.

Serving as Land Steward at Wildlands Trust, Alex spends the majority of his time in the field at the Trust’s numerous and diverse properties. He has been performing annual monitoring visits to all fee-owned preserves and is also completing baseline documentation reports for newly acquired properties. In addition, he works to maintain safe and enjoyable trails throughout Wildlands Trust preserves. Looking to increase the stewardship capacity of the Trust, Alex has collaborated with local schools to engage student volunteers. He will also be working towards organizing the recently formed Wildlands Trailblazers, a volunteer trail work group.

Allison Gillum, Regional Conservationist
agillum@wildlandstrust.org

Allison grew up in the small town of Pennington, NJ where she developed a love for nature exploring local woods, fields, and streams. She went to Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY where she double majored in environmental studies and psychology. After graduation she moved to Cambridge, MA where she worked for nearly two years as an environmental scientist at an engineering and environmental consulting firm. After experiencing the real world for a while, she decided it was time to escape reality and head to graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. She graduated in May 2010 with a Master of City Planning degree. She specialized in land use and environmental planning and also obtained a graduate certificate in land preservation. She is very passionate about land conservation and plans to have a long career working to protect valuable natural landscapes.

As a Regional Conservationist at Wildlands Trust, she is involved in a variety of projects including: identifying potential land protection projects; conducting research to establish project viability; assisting with conservation planning; and, coordinating efforts of landowners, municipal governments, local volunteer organizations, and potential funders to implement land conservation projects. Additionally, she oversees volunteers and conducts outreach to the general public in order to increase support for land protection.

Sarah Kugel, Community Outreach Coordinator
skugel@wildlandstrust.org

Sarah Kugel recently graduated from The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at The University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Science in Resource Ecology.  Her interests include ecology, local foods, and community involvement in conservation and restoration projects.  As an undergraduate student, she was involved in service-learning projects ranging from stream bank stabilization on a farm in Vermont to sea turtle conservation along the coasts of Baja California Sur, Mexico.  She is happy to now be back in Duxbury, Massachusetts, where she was born and raised, and to be serving as the Community Outreach Coordinator for Wildlands Trust.  Other hobbies of hers include cooking, yoga, and any sort of outdoor recreation.  In the future, Sarah hopes to continue working with communities to promote lifestyles and landscapes that are healthy for people and the planet.

As the Community Outreach Coordinator at Wildlands Trust, Sarah is working to increase local awareness of, support for, and participation in land protection and to foster an ethic of community service and civic engagement among community groups and volunteers.  She plans and promotes outdoor events, organizes trail work and community garden projects, and is finding new ways to reach out to civic groups not traditionally engaged in conservation.  Sarah also oversees all our social media and other technology outreach projects.