Southern Highlands Reserve names outstanding volunteer for 2023
Nancy Carroll has volunteered with the Southern Highlands Reserve since it first launched its volunteer program in 2019. SHR photo
Nancy Carroll has been named Southern Highlands Reserve’s Volunteer of the Year for 2023 in recognition of the “life, laughter and bright optimism” she brings to Volunteer Day at the Reserve.
“Rain or shine, she’s up on volunteer day ready to go,” said gardener Kody Stanley. “Cleaning seeds or working in the moss beds, she’s always excited to help.”
In 2023, volunteers completed more than 800 hours potting up plants in the nursery, leading tours as docents, tracking phenology, extracting and cleaning seeds, weeding and planting.
Carroll, a Brevard resident since 2011, first visited the Reserve more than a decade ago and has been involved since the formal launch of its volunteer program in 2019. She has recruited numerous new volunteers and donors with her enthusiasm and love for the time she spends at the Reserve.
“I tell people, SHR is as close as I can get to probably the love of my life, the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York and the Green Mountains in Vermont,” Carroll said. “When I’m going up that road to SHR, I don’t listen to the radio. And when I pull in that driveway, I like to go really slow because it reminds me of my childhood, the earliest memories I have. It’s one of the best parts of my life.”
To join the volunteer team, apply at southernhighlandsreserve.org/volunteer.
