After more than a year without someone in its top leadership position, the Blandford Nature Center in Grand Rapids has named Annoesjka Steinman as executive director to take the reins of the 40-year-old organization that teaches sustainability and land management in a fun and practical way.
Steinman has a unique mix of training in the natural sciences and experience in dealing with nonprofits that the center's board of directors thinks is essential to re-energize the organization, which features walking trails, interpretive center, an animal hospital, a small farm, and programs such as maple syrup gathering for the general public and school systems at its 143-acre site. More than 40,000 students from metropolitan school districts attended field days and programs last year at the center.
In recent years, the center has lost earmarked funding from government and educational sources for operations, leaving it to fend for itself as a stand-alone organization.
Steinman, 39, was tapped to perpetuate and grow the organization, using her experiences as varied as donor services director for the Community Foundation for Muskegon County to a lab technician with the Florida Game & Fresh Water Fish Commission.
She spoke with Rapid Growth about the challenges facing the center, her vision for the organization, and the joys of living in West Michigan.
I understand that you're not from this area. How did you find your way to West Michigan?
I was born on the island of Mallorca, Spain, but my family moved to Florida when I was three. I spent most of my childhood and adult life near Okeechobee, Florida, and my husband, Alan, and I moved to the Muskegon area about eight years ago when he joined the Annis Water Resources Institute of Grand Valley State University.
It looks as if you haven't wasted much time in becoming involved in West Michigan since you arrived here. What sorts of things have you been doing?
Most recently I served as donor services director for the Community Foundation for Muskegon County , and I served as the director for the Mona Lake Watershed Council for nearly five years. I have also been involved with the Muskegon Area Sustainability Coalition over the last three years on a volunteer basis to deepen connections between environmental integrity, economic prosperity, and social equality within our community. One of my favorite accomplishments was convincing Muskegon County commissioners to adopt Michigan's first countywide ordinance banning the use of phosphorus fertilizer on residential lawns. I also serve on the City Council of Norton Shores, but I intend to resign from that position with regrets because of the time commitment that I feel that this job will require at least for the first year.
There seems to be a common thread throughout your career over the appropriate use of natural resources. How did that come about?
I think it came partially from an experience that I had as a kid in Florida. My sister and I were riding our ponies in Florida, and we came up to a ditch where the water looked clear. The ponies stopped to take a drink, so we jumped down and scooped up some water to drink as we were thirsty ourselves. We didn't know at the time, but that ditch was downstream from a dairy, and this was before the days that dairies would treat their water before allowing it to run off. We didn't get sick, and we continued to drink from those sources -- but it wasn't until a few years later that I realized it wasn't normal for kids like us to get wormed along with their horses. So I have spent much of my career working with farmers and government agencies to find ways to keep farming sustainable in our communities while protecting our natural environment.
As I became an adult, I also discovered that it wasn't normal for many, many kids to enjoy the outdoors as my sister and I had. That's why I believe it's absolutely critical to expose children to nature as young as possible and as often as possible, which is one of the goals of Blandford Nature Center.
What is your first impression of your job and Blandford Nature Center?
I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining the organization. It's a dream job, not without some challenges, but I think very fun challenges. I feel Blandford is this multifaceted jewel, and some sides are highly polished and super efficient, and some sides are ignored right now. I'd like to be able to bring all points of interest that Blandford has to offer to their highest potential. And I love the potential of using all of my experience and training to help Blandford. (Steinman holds a master's degree in natural resources management from Grand Valley State University and a bachelor's degree in natural science from the University of South Florida.)
What do you think Blandford can offer the Metro Grand Rapids community?
I believe that Blandford has almost unlimited potential. For those who simply want some peace and quiet, they can walk and enjoy the trails. For those who want to learn more about organic farming and sustainability, we offer a Youth Farm Team and other programs. And we really want to continue to do the educational components with the school systems, so that kids can experience nature and see wildlife up close or grow their own crops or enjoy our other activities like the Sugar bush. We serve children who otherwise may never be able to experience these things.
What do you see as a major challenge for Blandford?
I think the biggest challenge is the fact that it's been there for 40 years, and people know and love it, but they are probably not aware that this is a new Blandford -- it's a new, independent, nonprofit organization that now needs community support. So we really hope to complete the vision of the Board and staff of Blandford to grow to its capacity, but we need to do that with community support.
Blandford will need to take a more prominent role in raising funds, and I think my experience in the last year with the community foundation in Muskegon County and my other experience as director of a nonprofit will help us there.
Now that you've spent some time in West Michigan and experienced our winters, what is your impression coming from Florida?
It's like having a playground in my backyard. I truly feel that all of West Michigan is my backyard from having my favorite ski area up in Arcadia, my favorite restaurants and sculpture garden in Grand Rapids, my favorite shopping down south to Saugatuck. This whole area -- from hiking to kayaking to skiing -- is just one giant playground. It doesn't get any better than West Michigan.
Also, there is something that I called West Michigan nice: Everyone is warm and wonderful to work with. That's what brought us here, and that's what's kept us here.
Matthew Gryczan is the managing editor of Rapid Growth, and he also serves on the board of directors of Blandford Nature Center.
Photos:Annoesjka Steinman, newly named executive director,
Blandford Nature Center
Blandford Nature Center founding director
Mary Jane Dockeray Annoesjka Steinman,
Mary Jane Dockeray Blandford Nature Center grounds (2)
Photographs by
Brian Kelly -All Rights Reserved
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.