Nature Center director ready for retirement
CAPE MAY — With her retirement date looming, Nature Center of Cape May Director Gretchen Whitman has been packing away her desk, stopping to admire “the Nicholas letter” that has been displayed on her desk since she received it in 2001.
The letter, written by then-4-year-old Nicholas Marinelli, reminded Whitman of a young attendee at the Harbor Safari event she hosted. In the letter, Marinelli asked Whitman to tell him more about sand fleas the next time he came to Cape May. Whitman reflects upon the letter if she’s ever having a tough day.
“He dictated [this] wonderful letter to his mom, and he drew me pictures,” Whitman said. “That’s what it is all about, creating a sense of wonder for children and having them be engaged in the environment, which will make a difference in the future. “They’re going to grow up and be leaders.”
Whitman has worked at the Nature Center for the past 30 years, starting as a volunteer in 1995 and becoming the center’s director in 1998. While her time as director will come to an end in January, Whitman hopes to continue volunteering in some capacity, including tending to the gardens on the grounds.
“I became a part-time teacher and naturalist and helping with the summer camp [programs],” she said. “I always kid to everyone, ‘I was a volunteer. Be careful, you might just [end up] running the place.’”
Leaving a job after a lengthy term, Whitman mulls over what it means to have a job, despite its challenges, that she can look back on fondly.
“There is a Japanese term called ‘ikigai,’ which means finding your passion, and I’ve been fortunate that I found my ikigai [within] my career,” Whitman said.
Passion fuels growth
In 1995, the Nature Center was adopted by New Jersey Audubon. Whitman worked as a part-time director, along with part-time staff, with a primary focus on the spring and summer months, when field trips and camp took place.
“It really was a fledgling, small, summer-only center in the very beginning,” she said. “The first accomplishment [as director] was in 2005 when we did a major capital campaign to renovate the building.”
The run-down house was turned into the welcome center, allowing the Nature Center to expand its footprint. Now, the center has five buildings on its campus.
“If you look at old photographs, the building was surrounded by phragmites, [so] we did a lot to fix up the facility and expand our programs to be more than just a summer place,” Whitman said. “Even though we do close in the dead of winter, we’re always doing things like programs for schools, after school and the library.”
Thirty years at a job allows one to witness the continued growth of programs, including many beloved community events such as Harbor Fest and the Monarch Festival.
“We like people to be able to come and be a part of our center and take ownership in it,” she said. “What’s wonderful to me is the next generation, the kids that come here are the children of parents who were original campers.”
The local community is an integral aspect of the success of the Nature Center. Whitman said it is why the center is free for all guests.
Located just steps away from the Nature Center, the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center is part of the community.
“We’re very involved in the community, with partnerships with our neighbor, the Coast Guard,” she said. “We’ve always worked closely with them, including the Good Neighbor Fund, which provides free weeks of camp to Coast Guard-dependent children.”
In addition to the fund that Whitman helped establish, the Nature Center offers its $3,000 Randy Nuessle Memorial Scholarship work-study program for graduating Cape May County high school students.
“We’ve done a lot of programs with that to help people understand landscaping for wildlife,” she said. “We host a native plant sale, which provides people of the region with wildlife-friendly, beneficial plants.”
The annual Catch of Cape May event is held in June to raise money for the Nature Center’s operations. Whitman said it’s one of the best parties of the summer.
Good times, bad times
Directing a non-profit center has challenges, such as a shoestring budget and limited staffing.
“There were times in the recession of 2008 when our parent company, the New Jersey Audubon, had to make some tough decisions,” Whitman said. “[Almost] all the staff was let go except for me, and I worked here for six months [alone].”
Eventually, the Nature Center brought in another educator and rebuilt the programs.
“It was tough getting through those times, but we survived,” she said.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, it was the first year the Nature Center did not offer summer camp. Instead, Whitman helped pivot toward offering virtual programs for the community. Throughout her career, it was the only summer the camp was not offered.
“The positive part of [the pandemic] was it gave us time to reflect on what we needed to do here, like cleaning and purging old materials,” Whitman said. “Our gardens looked great [that first] summer because we had more time to focus on it.”
Having enough volunteers is another critical challenge for the Nature Center.
“We’ve always struggled if we didn’t have the involvement of our volunteers,” Whitman said. “They’ve been critical to our success, [since] we have a bare-bones staff of two and a half year-round employees and hire four to five educators for the summer.”
Whitman notes finding more volunteers is a difficulty for most non-profit organizations.
When reflecting on running her first capital campaign to raise money for the renovation of the building, Whitman said she felt out of her depth.
“I was so new in this job that I felt like it was a hard challenge [because] I’d never done anything like that before,” she said. “I didn’t study non-profit management, so this job has always been an on-the-job training experience.”
Whitman attended Rutgers University, earning a degree from the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (previously called Cook College).
“I went to school to study biology and always thought about being a high school biology teacher,” she said. “But I took a little side deviation and worked as an environmental consultant at an engineering firm.”
After having her children, Chris and Nikki, Whitman cut back hours at the firm, at the same time the Nature Center was starting out.
“I began to work at the center when my kids were 3 and 7,” she said. “I really wanted to be involved and have my family be a part of [it.]”
Working at the Nature Center became an integral part of Whitman’s life.
“I have lots of great memories of Chris and Nikki coming to work with me a lot during the earlier days,” she said. “The center was like their second home. My children are creative people and they grew up with unlimited art supplies, participated in the programs and had a lot of fun memories.”
Whitman met her current husband, Mark Allen, through her work at Harbor Fest. As part of her retirement, she hopes to be able to spend time with her family, including grandson Mason, cook more, take art classes and travel.
Allowing the next generation to take the lead is paramount to Whitman. She leaves the director position in the hands of Emily Reed, who acts as the current program director.
“That’s probably one of the reasons I’m retiring, because I know it’s time to pass it on to the next generation to be involved,” Whitman said. “I started here when I was 35 years old and Emily will be 35 when she takes over. I think you need young blood and families to be involved.”
Just because she is retiring does not mean Whitman will not be a familiar face on the campus. She hopes to be one of the much-needed volunteers for the organization.
“I love tinkering in the garden, and we just renovated the front garden and my goal is to really see it thrive as a pollinator garden,” she said. “One of the programs I’ve [held] is ‘Beachcombing at the Cove,’ and I [will] probably continue to offer that. It’s a nice way to start a day.”
By RACHEL SHUBIN/For the Star and Wave