A natural fit
Olive Branch native executive director of Audubon Mississippi
Olive Branch native Jay Woods always loved the outdoors, but it was only recently that he peered into a pair of binoculars to see its beauty up close.
In the lenses, he saw the bright plumage of indigo buntings, the speckled chest of the wood thrush and the yellow feathers of the prothonotary warbler that fade to gray.
“They are so much more beautiful than you realize,” said Woods, 41, adding that those particular birds aren’t as prevalent elsewhere because of habitat issues. “They come here because there’s an incredible abundance of insects to feed on.”
Woods was educated as a lawyer, as his father Jimmy Woods was, but 19 months ago he took a job as vice president and executive director of Audubon Mississippi. He became interested in the position after being involved in production of a documentary on the Gulf Islands National Seashore.
“I grew up like any good Mississippi kid — hunting, fishing, spending a lot of time outdoors,” said Woods, who now lives in Jackson. He’s in the DeSoto County area about every other week, working with others on conservation and education.
Recently, he attended an announcement by the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi and the Maddox Foundation that additional funds would be available to Audubon Mississippi to benefit Strawberry Plains Audubon Center.
A gift of $24,000 from Maddox will be followed by $6,000 through the Community Foundation. The match program will continue through the end of the year.
Strawberry Plains, one of 46 nature centers (only two are in Mississippi) run by the society, is a 3,000- acre wildlife sanctuary near Holly Springs in Marshall County. The property was given to the society in 1998.
More than 10,000 people visit each year, the majority during the annual Hummingbird Migration Celebration. This year’s festival is Sept. 6-8.
“Strawberry Plains brings great value to our region,” said Tom Pittman, Community Foundation president. “Our Foundation is pleased to add part of our matching grant from the Maddox Foundation to the endowment for this excellent organization.”
Woods went by Strawberry Plains recently and sat down inside a screened porch. Behind him, hummingbirds hovered at bird feeders filled with sweet liquid.
The center includes walking trails and is open for special events, but its focus is to educate its visitors so that conservation practices may spread to public spaces.
Though students are welcome, it is often teachers who visit and take what they’ve learned to the classroom. The center recently hosted a two-week summer camp.
For any guest, there is the opportunity to watch birds from a wooden shelter or viewing station that overlooks a meadow. Trails take visitors to a small pond that harbors frogs and through bunches of native plants.
A former plantation, the property includes the Davis House, built in 1850 and restored after a fire during the Civil War. The beds around the house nurture native plants and stand as an example of what residents can do with their yards.
The outdoors is a luxury people tend to take for granted, Woods said, and the subject of the environment is expected to become more polarized politically, “but clearly something is going on.”
Woods, once simply a casual observer of nature, is now part of trying to find solutions to preserve the beauty of his state of birth.