Recognizing Our Volunteers
Every day, volunteers move our mission forward by sharing their time and talents with Indian Creek Nature Center. Every aspect of our mission is enhanced by community members who pitch in whether it is once a year or once a week.
Volunteers show up for the mission in nearly countless ways, including raising native prairie plants, tapping maple trees, making beautiful holiday decor, maintaining trails, feeding the chickens, washing dishes, filling bird feeders, chainsawing, and just about any other tasks that need to be done.
During our Volunteer Recognition Event on January 15, 2026, we celebrate the contributions of all our volunteers, and acknowledge a few of our most dedicated and impactful volunteers.
2025 Volunteer Award Recipients
Click on the award recipient’s name to read about their volunteer work.
Education and CFS Volunteer of the Year Award
Awarded to a volunteer who shows dedication to the ICNC mission of creating Champions of Nature through education, above-and-beyond the average volunteer, and/or provided support integral to an educational project or program.
Laurie Wyatt
Laurie Wyatt has been a valued member of the Indian Creek Nature Center education team for just under a year, joining us after retiring from a teaching career and relocating from the Des Moines area. In that short time, she has volunteered an extraordinary 72 times, demonstrating remarkable commitment, generosity, and passion for education.
Laurie brings a calm, confident presence and a wealth of experience to every interaction. Always positive and focused, she requires very little direction and seamlessly steps into her role. Her strong educational background has proven invaluable, enriching our programs and strengthening our team.
One of our young educators recently shared how much they enjoy working alongside Laurie, noting that she has a rare ability to sense when transitions are needed — and to make them before it’s too late — an essential skill when working with children. They also shared how much they have learned simply by observing Laurie’s thoughtful and skillful interactions with young participants.
Laurie’s dedication, professionalism, and quiet leadership have made a lasting impact on our organization and the community we serve. She is truly a deserving recipient of this Education Volunteer of the Year Award.
Brian Soenen
Brian is a devoted community organizer and advocate for clean water. Some may know Brian through his work with the Department of Natural Resources’ IOWATER program that trained and equipped volunteers to test water quality in rivers and streams across the state. Others may know Brian through his work with Project A.W.A.R.E, the state’s largest river cleanup event.
Creekside Forest School knows Brian as a dedicated father and volunteer who shows up weekly to help guide students through the brook, prairie, and woods, as well as through their own emotional landscape. He can often be found knee deep in the brook talking about bugs, pausing on the trail to point out animal tracks, or cracking dad jokes to make a student’s day a little brighter.
In December, when temperatures dropped below zero, Brian rallied students to use shovels and sleds to make a giant snow pile. Later that evening, he brought two of his children back to the nature center to transform that snow pile into a fort called a quinzee. This quinzee inspired hours of play, offered shelter from the wind, and provided an opportunity for our students to work together as a community.
CFS kids have come to appreciate Brian for his humor and knowledge of the natural world. We teachers appreciate his thoughtfulness, energy, and passion towards our program. I am pleased to present this volunteer award to Brian Soenen.
Land and Sugar Grove Volunteer of the Year Award
Awarded to a volunteer who shows dedication to land stewardship, ICNC property, grounds, and the facility, above-and-beyond the average volunteer, and/or was part of projects that would have been challenging to complete without their support.
Matt Doty
Matt Doty has officially been volunteering here for just over a year. And in that year, he has accomplished a tremendous amount.
Whether it is taking a chainsaw to dangerous trees year-round or helping with Maple Syruping, Matt is here. He worked closely with the Americorps team members, helping them develop their construction skill set, and also recently worked through the skidloader’s required 500-hour maintenance with Nick. The maintenance itself didn’t quite take 500 hours, but it felt like it was close. Machine maintenance is a really important part of what our team does.
Matt helps us with chicken feed runs and hardware store runs, as well as longer missions, like picking up the All-Terrain Track Chairs that enable people of different mobility levels to enjoy our trails.
Matt is gentle, caring, and patient. He is happy to share if he knows how to do something, happy to learn what he doesn’t know, and makes working on every project more enjoyable for those around him. He enjoys problem solving, doesn’t mind working independently, and stays engaged until the job gets done and everything is put away. Often, I go out in the shop and Matt is working on a much-needed project that has spent too long on my to-do list.
Matt saw us through two Americorps NCCC teams this year, and is looking forward to maple syruping in 2026. Matt, we would like to say thank you for a great 2025.
Kim Hayes
Kim Hayes gets the job done before we even know there’s a job that needs to be done. I met her at the Creek Cleanup in 2024, and she’s been a volunteer powerhouse here ever since.
From supporting the Plant and Art Sale and Monarch Festival, Kim is there. She supported the Practice in the Prairie series and is always happy to help us clear obnoxious vines during woodland restoration projects. If I need an egg delivered or fence posts pounded in when the ground is frozen, Kim will be there.
When Kim signs up for a project, I know that I will learn something new, the conversation will go in a direction I wasn’t expecting, and I will laugh. Kim is great to work with, honest, and has some wonderful life experience that she brings to our projects that make us more efficient and creates a positive atmosphere for other volunteers. Kim, thank you for a fantastic 2025.
Grace Nieland
Like the other volunteers I am recognizing this evening, Grace doesn’t exactly pick a lane and stay in it. She is happy to sign up for a wide variety of things, including helping with the Creek Cleanup and the Barn to Farm Bike Ride. But mostly, I think where Grace is happiest is working independently with the chicken flock.
As you may know, the Nature Center has 180 laying hens producing organic eggs. And those hens need to be tended every day. Their water buckets freeze in the winter, everything from mice to an opossum has managed to sneak into the hen house, the birds escape the fence, and if you ever go to feed the hens later than they think they should be fed, you will quickly find multiple birds perched on your head, shoulders, and the feed bucket you are trying to carry.
Grace takes it all in stride, and she visits the flock often enough to have a solid routine and help others, knows how to problem solve, and supported us through the holidays. Also, I can tell if Grace hasn’t been around for a few days because Bob the cat complains about her absence.
Grace, thank you for being one of our lead chicken tenders at Etzel Sugar Grove Farm.
Outstanding Service by a Community Supporter Award
Awarded to an individual, organization, company, corporation or foundation who makes a substantial contribution of volunteer time, as a group/entity, shows particular dedication to the ICNC mission of creating Champions of Nature through education and/or inspiration.
The Watson Family
The Watson Family has been engaged with the Nature Center for more than 20 years as a dedicated sponsor. Over the past six years, under Ben’s leadership, they’ve deepened their connection to our work and become true advocates for our mission. Their support of programs like free yoga and the Barn to Farm bike race reflects their commitment to healthy food, active living, and strengthening our community. They carry this commitment beyond their business as well, choosing as a family to support the Nature Center through annual giving.
IFF
IFF has supported the Nature Center in so many meaningful ways. Their team consistently shows up ready to engage — removing invasive species, planting crops and grasses, cleaning up derecho debris, cutting down hawthorn trees, and painting. This past summer, they even cleared a particularly gnarly area near the old barn and stayed until the job was done.
We deeply appreciate the ownership they bring to every project. Beyond their volunteer work, they’ve become annual sponsors of Trails & Tastings, funded the Lynch Wetland dredging and replanting, and always bring a can‑do spirit to everything they do.
We are truly grateful for the IFF Green Team and all the employees who make this partnership so strong.
Commitment to Excellence Award
Awarded to a Board Member who shows particular dedication to the ICNC mission of creating Champions of Nature through education and/or inspiration, and/or provided support integral to a project or program.
Pat Deignan
Pat gives generously of his time to the Nature Center, not only helping guide our charitable trust investments as a member of the Board of Trustees, but also championing our programs and events in meaningful ways.
This past year, he invited more than 20 guests to our Farm to Table fundraising dinner and personally hosted over 10 of them. His enthusiasm for the Barn to Farm Bike Ride is equally inspiring.
Pat’s dedication, energy, and genuine commitment to our mission make him a valued partner to the Nature Center.
David Hayes
David’s leadership as Board Chair — and well beyond that role — has been truly instrumental to the Nature Center. His ongoing commitment as a sustaining member and the thoughtful guidance he brought to our planning and growth, especially during our milestone 50th year, have left a lasting impact on our mission.
David is always willing to strategize, share connections, and quietly lift up everyone around him. His generosity of time, insight, and spirit has strengthened this organization in meaningful and enduring ways.
Jack-in-the-Pulpit Award
Length of involvement is more than one or two years and their work has some continuity. Quality of the involvement includes effective work with positive results for the Nature Center, as well as a variety of kinds of volunteer work.
Jill Jamieson
Jill Jamieson has been volunteering for years, and her dedication shines through in everything she touches. She’s one of those remarkable volunteers who seems to be everywhere at once. From setting up and tearing down tents at outdoor events, supporting our many festivals, helping attendees carry out their purchases at Nature’s Noel, and stepping in wherever extra hands are needed.
At Etzel Sugar Grove, she eagerly takes on special projects, helps with planting and invasive species removal, and tackles any odd job we put before the Wednesday Warriors. Jill is also a steady presence in our egg-washing and delivery operations, keeping things running smoothly behind the scenes.
You truly never know where Jill will pop up, and we are so fortunate she shares her talents and can-do spirit with us.
Justin Voss
Justin Voss is a very familiar face around the nature center. He is an extraordinary helping hand at so many of our Nature Center events.
Whether he’s hopping on a bike to support Barn to Farm, graciously serving guests at our many Farm to Table dinners, pitching in to clean up after Trailside Tastings, or keeping things running smoothly at Maple Syrup Festival, Justin shows up with dedication, energy, and a spirit of service that elevates every event.
We’ve seen him roll up his sleeves to help with Derecho clean up, volunteer his time to collect sap, and help with maple syrup production.
We are deeply grateful for all the ways he contributes to our community.
Founders’ Award
The Founders’ Award is given in honor of our founders, B.B. Stamats and Jean O’Donnell. It is given to those individuals who have at least two decades of service to Indian Creek Nature Center. Recipients of the award personify the values of Indian Creek Nature Center and its founding and believe in the mission to get people outside to enjoy nature and the outdoors.
Neil Bernstein
Neil has been a member since at least 2003 and actively participates in programs, especially leading regular bird banding programs.
Neil has volunteered in every area of ICNC’s operations, including having served on the board of directors previously.
Carol Olson
Carol is a charter member of the Nature Center and has been an active member and volunteer since 1973.
Every year she can be seen behind the counter at Maple Syrup Festival serving drinks with a cheerful smile. She is an active member of the Friends group where she volunteers for both the Plant & Art Sale and Nature’s Noel.
Terri Osmanski
Terry is a regular Maple Syrup Festival volunteer and was a volunteer for ICNC’s Junior Naturalist program.
She has been a regular volunteer since 1980 and an active member for decades.
Phil White
Phil volunteers for many different areas of ICNC’s programs and land. He has been an active Teacher Naturalist for many years, often assisting with maple syrup programs and helping to harvest sap and make syrup.
He is a jack of all trades and his work can be seen throughout Amazing Space from the watershed table to benches for kids to watch the animals.
