Photo: Bethany Single walks along a large fallen log in a sunlit forest, helping her young son balance while her daughter stands ahead. All three are bundled for a cool day, surrounded by tall trees with early spring leaves.
BY BETHANY SINGLE
Tell us a little about yourself. Family? Where do you live and work?
I’m married to Lewis, and we have two kiddos: Lilliana (7) and Rowan (5). We also have two dogs, Izzo and Bixby, and two goldfish named Ocean Sky Cloud and Peaches. We’ve been living in Indianapolis since 2018, after Lewis started working at the Indianapolis Zoo. He is currently the curator of reptiles, birds, and animal ambassadors.
I work from home as a lead learning designer for a company called Boundless Learning, where I help build online adult learning courses, mostly for higher education. I also teach online courses for a community college in South Carolina.
When I find some free time, I love to read, do puzzles, play board games, knit, act like I know how to garden, drink lots of tea (hot or cold), and of course, look for birds.
This fall, I’m starting the master’s program in philanthropic studies at Indiana University to help take the first steps towards a career shift into education in the nonprofit sector.
What got you interested in birds and birding?
My interest in birding started when I was young. I used to sit in my great-grandma’s kitchen with an oatmeal cookie and watch birds out her window. As I got older, I started sitting at my grandparent’s kitchen table for breakfast, watching the birds at their ten feeders and giggling every time my grandpa grabbed the water gun to go spray the squirrels. It was a highlight of my time with them, until I moved to Florida after college.
Then I met Lewis. He was working at ZooTampa with my brother-in-law, and suddenly, all of my friends worked at the zoo. Two of my closest worked in the aviary and with the ambassador animals—lots of birds. I loved hearing about their days, especially when a bird would go rogue during a flyover and they would have to just sit in a random field, waiting and watching for a macaw to decide it was ready to go home.
One day, after we moved to Indianapolis, I saw a Northern Flicker for the first time. Suddenly, being a casual observer of birds was no longer enough. I needed to learn more so I could be an active observer—learning how to identify birds by sight and sound, and understanding which birds live and move through Indiana.
I realized birds were one of those small, beautiful things that had always been around, but I had taken them for granted, and I didn’t want to do that anymore. Now I’m full-on bird obsessed, and my kids, family, friends, and coworkers have all accepted it (though not my dogs; they still bark at my bird friends).
Do you have a favorite park or nature spot you love exploring with your family?
My favorite place to go with my kids is Marott Woods Nature Preserve. It’s so close to where we live that it makes it easy to throw everyone in the car and head out on a whim. The kids play in the river, and I listen and look for birds. Seeing an Indigo Bunting was a highlight.
When we’re feeling more adventurous, we love going to Eagle Creek Park. As my kids get older, my goal is to start exploring more of Indiana.
You’ve been in online education since 2012. How do you think those skills translate into volunteer engagement?
My first love is education and teaching. While I’ve been working in online education for over a decade, I’ve been a teacher far longer than that. Although I’m not terribly fond of public speaking (unless it’s in front of a bunch of kindergarteners), one of my strengths is conveying my passion for the things I love. The benefit of working in online education is that I’ve become pretty good at expressing enthusiasm—in-person, on camera, and through text.
I’m hoping that this experience and these skills will help me bring more energy and eagerness to our volunteer community, as I do my best to infect our volunteers with my excitement for IAS’s mission, projects, events, and just birds in general!
How do you hope to shape the future of Indiana Audubon’s (IAS) volunteer community?
My biggest hope for the IAS volunteer community is that we become just that: a true community. My goal is to help the IAS volunteer flock make connections, get more comfortable in their roles, and feel empowered and appreciated.
Volunteers are an essential piece to ensuring organizations like IAS grow and thrive. If we can build a strong community of friends, mentors, and collaborators, we can do great things.
Bethany Single is Indiana Audubon’s new volunteer engagement coordinator. She’s excited to build connection, energy, and education within the IAS volunteer community. Questions about volunteering? Email her directly at [email protected].
Tags: meet a member Q&A
