Faces of Wilton: Henryk Teraszkiewicz

Woodcock Nature Center, which has been providing children with a solid education in nature and environmental education since 1972, has grown substantially over the past 10 years—mainly under the care of its executive director Henryk Teraszkiewicz. 

Teraszkiewicz, who joined the organization in 2004, has worked tirelessly to teach children both the beauty and wonder of nature, as well as how important it is to the future of the Earth to help protect it. 

Teraszkiewicz was nominated for the "Faces of Wilton" column because "the center teaches over 6,000 kids a year in school field trips, including all Miller Driscoll kindergarteners and second graders and all Cider Mill third graders....[the] camp reaches over 500 local kids and [Teraszkiewicz] is a fixture at the Wilton Go Green festival, camp fairs, community days, etc."

Patch spoke with Teraszkiewicz about the center's mission, his love of nature and the plans that he has to expand the center even further. 

PATCH: What path led you to become the executive director of the Woodcock Nature Center?

TERASZKIEWICZ: I've always been interested in the outdoors. As a kid, I loved taking walks in the park, gardening and building forts. When I was growing up, most of my friends were outdoor-type kids. 

When it was time for college, I went up to Binghamton and majored in liberal arts because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but I knew I had an interest in science, geology and environmental sciences. During the summer, I had a job as a counselor at Teatown Camp in Ossining, which is where I met my wife. 

I never babysat because I'm an only child, but while working at the camp I was allowed to develop my own curriculum. I realized that I had the ability to put the language of science into children's vernacular. I was able to get them excited about learning—it was an "a-ha" moment for me. I knew it was something I needed to pursue. 

PATCH: Why do you think nature and environmental education is so important to school-age children, especially now?

TERASZKIEWICZ: We're finding that there's a real disconnect between kids and the outdoors and we want to repair that disconnect. With today's parents having all of these fears about abduction, injury and Lyme's Disease, a lot of children out there are suffering from what doctors are calling "nature deficit disorder" and it's being linked to all kinds of conditions such as childhood obesity, ADHD and loneliness. The lack of free outdoor play can cause a lot of social, mental and emotional issues. 

And if kids don't have at the very least a wonder about nature, what is their impetus to conserve it tomorrow? We don't consider ourselves to be activists—we're educators with an active role in helping parents and children connect with nature. Our mission is to help raise healthy children and families for healthy environment tomorrow.

PATCH: How does the Woodcock Nature Center incorporate technology into its programs?

TERASZKIEWICZ: We have an initiative right that takes today's technology and brings it outside. We use geocaching for our outdoor treasure hunts and equip the kids with underwater cameras, so that they can see what's swimming around in the water, and night vision cameras for tracking animals. We are also incorporating tech into our hiking trails. Parents can take their smartphones with them and scan bar codes and different parts of the trails to find more info about the plants and animals that can be found there. It's so cool!

PATCH: How do you keep in touch with nature when you're not working?

TERASZKIEWICZ: Well, right now I'm in the process of renovating my house in Newtown. I'm sort of a jack of all trades. I'm doing a lot of gardening and fixing up right now—it's an old farmhouse. But I'm a family man. I have a son who's 9 and a daughter who's 7. We like to hike and ride bikes and do game nights. My son makes up games and we go on scavenger hunts. 

PATCH: What's next for the Woodcock Nature Center?

TERASZKIEWICZ: Well, next year we are going to start raising funds to grow an endowment for the center. Right now, we rely solely programming for income, so there's no real parachute or foundation. This campaign is important because it will ensure that what we've built here stays here for a long time.