MEET AMY ZVONAR, NEW AUWRC STAFF MEMBER!
Tell us about your background and current position.
I’m originally from the Atlanta, Georgia area, and my parents were both 7th grade life science teachers, so science and education were a big part of my early childhood experience. I went to local nature centers for summer day camp and helped my dad feed the fish in the fresh and saltwater aquariums he kept in his classroom. My dad grew up in Florida, so we spent a lot of our vacations on the Gulf Coast. Swimming in the Gulf probably helped me become a strong swimmer, and I ended up swimming competitively through college. I was also a lifeguard, taught swim lessons, and coached youth swim teams throughout college, and these jobs helped me realize that I loved being a teacher.
When I graduated from college, I wanted to do something that used my science background, let me grow my love of teaching, and kept me close to the water. Environmental education ended up being a great fit. I moved up to New Hampshire and taught on whale watching boats in the Gulf of Maine for half a year before returning to Georgia and becoming a coastal environmental educator on St. Simons Island. I have held many positions in education since then, which is why I am especially excited to join the Alabama Water Watch team. I am still learning and exploring all the aspects of my current position, but I have already jumped in on some education projects and I am getting to know the many amazing volunteers who make AWW so successful. I am looking forward to getting more involved in training new volunteers and reaching out to community members as much as possible.
Humpback whales (Stellwagen Bank), from when I worked on whale watching boats.
What past work and school experience helped you prepare for your position here?
My school experience is fairly straightforward. I was a biology major as an undergraduate and all those classes in chemistry, microbiology, and invertebrate biology are great when helping train volunteer water quality monitors. I also have a master’s degree in environmental management, with a focus in water resources management, although I have not applied that experience much over the past 5 years. Back in the fall of 2024, I decided to become a volunteer water quality monitor with AWW because I wanted to start re-invigorating those skills! I was so excited when the outreach position opened at AWW because it is the ideal way for me to keep learning and growing as an educator and water resources manager.
I bring a lot of work experience to AWW! The field of environmental education often hires seasonal workers, so I changed jobs and moved a lot when I first began my career. Some of my favorite jobs were working as a Community Forester and helping community groups turn vacant lots and concrete streetscapes into vibrant green spaces in New Haven, CT and teaching people about the value of the urban environment as the Education Director for Blue Heron Nature Preserve in Atlanta, GA. I have also worked as both a classroom Kindergarten teacher and a Forest Kindergarten teacher! Being a part of so many organizations that all do things just a little differently has helped me be flexible, adaptable, and resilient. I think it also prepared me for working at AWW, where it is clear that partnering with many different organizations and communities is essential to our success.
Me teaching about water quality to Girl Scouts at Town Creek Park
What do you find most exciting about the work you’re doing or hope to do?
I am excited that Alabama Water Watch is a place-based organization, and I am looking forward to going to new places and meeting new people all over the state who want to make a positive impact on the environment! My family moved to Auburn for my husband’s job in January 2020, so while I am not new to the state, I still have a lot to learn! This year, I have been learning Alabama history alongside my 4th grade daughter and there are so many places I want to visit. Plus, my mom is originally from Talladega, Alabama and I grew up visiting my grandparents there regularly, so I feel like it is time for me to really get to know the rest of Alabama!
My family (getting a Christmas tree!)
In your career, what is the best advice you’ve been given?
One of my art professors in college always impressed upon us the importance of learning from and with others. I remember her getting a little upset when a visiting artist claimed their work was not inspired by anyone else. While this isn’t exactly advice, it is something I think about a lot in my work. It is easy to think we have to do everything on our own, but seeking advice and help from others is essential. We work and learn in relationship with others, and it is important to recognize how the people around us shape and inform what we do. My work is always more successful when it is done in collaboration, and I look forward to a lot of learning from and with others at AWW!
What is a book that you think everyone should read and why?
I am going to be greedy in my answer to this question because I love books and I want to make sure there is something on this list for everyone. Plus, I shelved books at the Auburn Public Library for a few years, so I have a very long list of very good books!
I want to start with some of my favorite children’s books that I highly suggest adults read as well:
1. Science Comics series. If you have not read a graphic novel, this is a wonderful series to start with. I have read almost every book in the series, and I am convinced that graphic novels are the perfect medium for making scientific concepts accessible to any person.
2. Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts. I love meeting the children in grade 2 at Blue River Creek elementary school and Ada is one of my favorites. She is boundlessly curious and persistent, but better yet, the adults around her figure out how to support her endless inquiry.
3. The Wild Robot by Peter Brown. This is a recent chapter book that reads like a classic and it enchanted both of my children (ages 9 and 4 when we read it) from the beginning. I even drew a map of the island from the book so my daughters could follow the wild robot’s adventures! You may have seen the movie adaptation, which was pretty good, but the book exquisitely captures the sense of wonder for the natural world that we are all born with but tend to lose over time. If you’re an adult, read it and rekindle that sense of wonder!
4. Dwellings by Linda Hogan. Linda Hogan makes you want to go outside, lie down in the grass and feel your connection to the world. The title of this collection of essays tells you exactly how you need to read them, by sitting in each essay and really living in the words.
5. What I Learned from the Trees by L.E. Bowman. This book of poetry came highly recommended to me by a dear friend, and I found many poems to love inside its pages. I think everyone needs a poem to love, perhaps you will find one here!
My map for The Wild Robot book, drawn in the style of Peter Brown (the author and illustrator of the novel).
What is your favorite aquatic critter and why?
I am going to go with moon snail for now, because I have a good picture of one of my children holding one. She learned to find their trails in the sand at an aquarium’s touch tanks and she was elated every time she found one. They are nifty little creatures, and when I taught on the Georgia coast I always had a reason to mention them on beach walks. Children often brought me shells with perfect, tiny holes in them, excited that they could make a necklace with them. Carnivorous moon snails were often the creators of these precisely drilled excavations in clam shells, and the children thrilled that their future necklace was made possible by a snail just using its tongue (radula) and an acid secretion!
My daughter with a moon snail!
If you’d like to get in touch with Amy, email awwcommunications@auburn.edu