Mass Audubon’s Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary continues to serve Island families and children through our school, camp, preschool, and community programs. Here and across the Commonwealth, Mass Audubon’s Action Agenda has provided hope, energy, and urgency to our work, prioritizing inclusive and equitable access to nature, stewarding resilient landscapes, and climate action. At Felix Neck, these imperatives are reflected in our anti-bias preschool curriculum, our Youth Climate Leadership Program (YCLP), and as our role as a Coastal Resiliency Center and guides all of our community-based efforts.
The support of MVYouth allowed us to fast-track the development and implementation of a nature preschool that would serve a community need which has grown even more acute post pandemic. Fern and Feather Preschool is in its fourth year and is off to an amazing start, serving 15 students per day! A new director, Anne Ouwerkerk, has brought extensive expertise in nature education, early education, and special education. Last June we sent off our largest graduating class to date, including one student who was with us since the school’s inception. During the summer of 2022, camp returned to its pre-Covid capacity and we welcomed so many campers that we had missed during the pandemic years. Over $32,000 was provided to Island families for tuition support for our school and camp programs.
Our focus this year will be to hire another full-time lead preschool teacher in order to further contribute to supporting the needs of year-round families.