Carol arrived in Evergreen in the 1970’s and was pleased to find an Audubon chapter (TENAS) and a whole bunch of like-minded folks right here in town. She says of those early days, “I was driving down to Chatfield nearly every weekend to check on the heron rookery before the cottonwoods were flooded out. I so admired Bill and Sylvia Brockner (our co-founders) and fondly recall a trip to Barr Lake, walking next to Bill as he pointed up to the sky and exclaimed, ‘Look at the gas hawk!’ My 5-year-old son looked up with great anticipation and puzzlement. Bill laughed his hearty laugh and said, “It must be a United gas hawk, streaking towards New York City!”
She has enjoyed volunteering as a Nature Center Visitor Assistant and in 2017 helped launch the popular story time partnership between the Nature Center and Evergreen Library. Carol’s background includes a degree in history from DePauw University (Indiana), graduate studies in library science from University of Denver, extensive volunteer work in the community, and a life-long love of nature.
Carol grew up west of Chicago, in a family of seven kids. Her childhood was spent high up in trees, in homemade backyard forts, and mucking around in a nearby marsh catching any critters she could find. Her mother regularly sent all the kids outside where they rode their bikes, roller skated, and played multiple sports. Carol credits her mother, a birder and botanical illustrator, and her nature loving father for instilling in her a sense of wonder, love and respect for nature and the environment.
Growing up, her family vacationed every summer in the small town of Pentwater, Michigan, on Lake Michigan. She still returns there every summer to take in the sound of the waves, walk along the shoreline, golf, bike, and hunt for eastern birds, especially the warblers, right outside her door. The family would also take regular trips out west. It was during one of those trips that she fell in love with Colorado and the West and decided that this is where she wanted to be.
Buying Odyssey Books, a little hippie bookstore in downtown Evergreen prompted the move here in 1975. Owning the store was the perfect introduction to the community and she reports, “a solid learning experience.” After selling the bookstore, she worked for Jefferson County Public Library – Evergreen Branch for 32 years. She thoroughly enjoyed working at the library and collaborating with like-minded people to create a wide variety of literacy programs for children, families, and adults. During those years she found herself often organizing and occasionally chairing statewide literature conferences. Carol enjoys working on long-term projects and events on behalf of Evergreen Audubon and hopes to find new opportunities to increase our impact and visibility in the community.
Carol and her husband, Chuck, a Colorado native, raised their two children in Evergreen. Chuck volunteered on the Alpine Rescue Team for many years and served a term as president of the Stingers (youth soccer). Their three grandchildren, 6th generation Coloradans, love wildlife and the outdoors. Their eldest grandson is happiest catching crawdads at Evergreen Lake and their 10-year-old granddaughter recently enjoyed a bird walk led by our own Chuck Aid, despite the bitter cold that day.
“It warms my heart that the love of nature and the outdoors is being passed down through the generations. I LOVE driving up to Mount Blue Sky to experience the alpine ecosystem from the wildflowers Elephant Heads and Queens Crown to the elusive White-tailed Ptarmigan and my favorite, the Pika! What a gift we have, right in our own (elevated) back yard!”
Over the years, Carol has volunteered with the Boy Scouts, youth soccer, local PTAs, Wild Aware, Evergreen Library and Mt. Evans Hospice. She is a life-long learner and as an avid reader, she helps manage her long-standing book club. She played in softball and volleyball leagues in Evergreen for many years and still loves to play and watch all kinds of sports. She is an earnest hiker and aspiring wildlife photographer. While she is still learning the finer points of using her digital camera, she says that she has managed to take a few good shots over the years. “If only the birds would slow down and fly in slow motion. That would help.”