Carol Griffis delicately traces the lines on the shell of one of the painted
turtles, holding it in her hands at Trillium Nature Center, as she has done for the last nearly three decades.
“The bottom shell’s as big as the top shell so the turtle can get inside,” she says, showing 7-year-old Maddie, while her mom stands nearby—both first-time visitors today. “See the lines in between them? They’re like floor tiles,” Carol adds.
Her husband, Jim, looks onward from the doorway, before turning over his shoulder with a good-natured: “She can’t help herself.”
To Carol, this might just be another day of volunteering as one of the Wednesday Warriors—the dedicated, standing group of volunteers at Buffalo Audubon for decades.
But to the probably hundreds of children like Maddie, who have observed Carol’s programs on school field trips during her time volunteering here—or today, an impromptu visit with a turtle—these moments make a difference.
Carol found her way to Buffalo Audubon in the 1990s on a trip she was supervising with the Presbyterian Church of East Aurora, where she had worked with pre-school children. And by the time she retired, she knew she wanted to volunteer here.
“I’ve always enjoyed nature all of my life, particularly wildflowers,” she says. “It’s fun teaching small children. They don’t ask difficult questions,” she says with a chuckle.
It wasn’t long before she got involved with teaching school groups at Beaver Meadow—pond study being one of her favorite ones—programs of which she usually led two days per week.
“I always liked the pond study. And I learned a lot, because I didn’t know that information before I came,” she says. “Shadowing an experienced tour guide, I learned about the difference between frog eggs and salamander eggs. That kind of thing.”
And as 25 years went by, that passion trickled down to her family—and multiple generations, at that.
It wasn’t long before Jim Griffis, her husband, became a fixture with the Wednesday Warriors, and he can usually be found with tools in his hand, riding a piece of heavy machinery, or on the roof somewhere.
“When I was new to Buffalo Audubon, I distinctly recall driving into the preserve and seeing a group of Wednesday volunteers standing on the nature center roof with brooms and other tools in their hands, removing moss,” says Lynn Westcott, Director of Development at Buffalo Audubon. “It was amazing to see such dedication, because I don’t know if that’s something I would have done as a volunteer!”
Down the line in the Griffis family, Carol’s granddaughters—Salah, Saffrin, Gwyn, and Lyra—have also followed suit. Well, not so much with roof escapades, but as Wednesday Warriors, themselves, or camp counselors—and, in Salah’s, Saffrin’s, and Lyra’s cases, pursuing careers in the environmental field.
“I’ve been coming here forever,” Salah says, a child from summer camp seated next to her on the front porch at Trillium Nature Center. “My favorite part about all of it has been being able to learn through them more about the environment and how to take care of it—gardening, with the butterfly garden, or taking care of the animals inside, all the reptiles. Everything I’ve learned has now shaped my future and my career [in environmental geography].”
It’s impossible to say how many, like Salah, have come through Buffalo Audubon’s nature-based programming over the years and had similar outcomes, what they remember, and the little—or big—ways it’s impacted them. But it is fair to say that presences like Carol’s—those who are kind, patient, knowledgeable, and eager to share that knowledge—truly make a positive ripple in the pond.
It’s also fair to say that around Buffalo Audubon, you find presences like that more often than you might think—and especially when it comes to our Wednesday Warriors.
Whether you’ve been coming around for 40 years, like Lois, or it’s your first day as a volunteer (which was also the case this morning), the Wednesday Warriors make you feel like one of their own—always eager to share a cup of coffee or donut, hike with you through the woods to collect sticks, or make you feel like you’re part of the group. Because, you are.
To Carol, that’s her favorite part: “It’s the friendships we’ve forged,” she says. “The getting together, and seeing what’s new, or what we need to discover. My big thing that I’m proud of is bringing my grandchildren since they were just out of diapers.”
“I may not be doing what I was before,” she adds later. “But there’s still a place for me here.”
Join our volunteer community!
There’s a place for you in our community of amazing volunteers. Whether you’re looking to join us with your corporate group or just yourself, every week or once in a while, we’d love to have you join us!
Learn more at buffaloaudubon.org/volunteer!
This story originally was published in the Fall 2026 edition of The Outlook, a birding and nature magazine by Buffalo Audubon. Read more stories from The Outlook magazine online, or upgrade to subscribe and receive printed editions mailed right to you.
