The Nature Conservancy in Ohio - Amy Brennan: Leading Volunteer Stewardship Efforts

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Amy Brennan has been volunteering with The Nature Conservancy for more than 10 years. When she's not working for Chagrin River Watershed Partners, where she's employed, Amy often can be found leading the Conservancy's volunteer restoration crew at Morgan Swamp Preserve.

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"This preserve is special to me for so many reasons. I love the fact that I can still get lost, that it's always changing and that at any time I might spot a four-toed salamander or evidence of a river otter."

— Amy Brennan, Morgan Swamp Preserve Volunteer Crew Chief

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See what we're doing to protect Ohio's natural wonders!

Learn more about what we're dong to protect Morgan Swamp Preserve.

The Conservancy's work at Morgan Swamp helps to protect the Grand River and Lake Erie. Learn more about how we're keeping Ohio's freshwater supply healthy.

At more than 1,000 acres, the Conservancy’s Morgan Swamp preserve protects one of the largest undeveloped interior wetlands in northeastern Ohio. This dynamic and self-sustaining swamp ecosystem serves as both a home to numerous rare species and as a second home to its volunteer caretakers who work long hours ensuring its protection.

For six years Amy Brennan has been volunteering as Crew Chief at Morgan Swamp, where she applies her educational and professional background, as well as her energy and commitment, to the preserve’s ongoing restoration efforts.

“Between her job as associate director of the Chagrin River Watershed Partners and her role as crew chief for Morgan Swamp, Amy always has her hand in conservation,” says Karen Adair, the Conservancy’s land steward in northeast Ohio.

As crew chief, Amy leads a dedicated group of volunteers, under Adair’s supervision, in projects ranging from the protection of habitat along the river’s edge to the removal of phragmites – an exotic species that is crowding out native plant life in the swamp.

“Most of Morgan’s restoration efforts are accomplished during volunteer work day activities,” Adair says. “It’s under her leadership that the Conservancy’s objectives for the preserve are carried out.”

The Conservancy’s preserve is part of a larger, 2,000-acre remnant of a five-square-mile swamp that existed at the time of European settlement. By the beginning of this century, most of the area had been logged, drained, and farmed. But for the past 80 years, this part of the swamp has remained relatively undisturbed, allowing the ecosystem to recover.

“This preserve is special to me for so many reasons,” Amy explains. “I love the fact that I can still get lost, that it’s always changing and that at any time I might spot a four-toed salamander or evidence of a river otter.”

Amy recently played a part in the Conservancy’s efforts to build a new trail at Morgan Swamp.

“I’m glad that more people now have the chance to see and appreciate the beauty of Morgan Swamp…like its vernal pools and beaver ponds,” Amy says. “I hope they see how changing it is...Morgan can be so dynamic.”

If you would like to help Amy and her team of volunteers at Morgan Swamp or any other Conservancy preserve, please e-mail Barbara Bhattacharya at bbhattacharya@tnc.org or call (614) 717-2770.

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