Andrew Brown shows off his “Goat” name tag at Holiday Lake 4-H Educational Center.
Andrew Brown, environmental management systems manager in Lynchburg, Virginia, says he has a lot of practice with bad jokes. Two of his favorites: “What’s a tree’s favorite drink? Root beer!” And “What’s the best way to identify a dogwood tree? By its bark!”
He’s found cheesy jokes come in handy while volunteering at the Holiday Lake 4-H Educational Center in Appomattox, Virginia, where he teaches kids and young adults about our forest resources. Known by the kids as ‘Goat’ because of a goatee he sported in his early days, he started out nearly 20 years ago as a camp counselor at Camp Woods and Wildlife, held annually over the third week of June. Since then, he’s expanded his involvement into the school year, teaching school groups visiting Holiday Lake on field trips. He’s even enlisted others from his office to jump in when needed.
“I’ve always enjoyed teaching, especially kids,” Andrew says. “I can tell tree pun jokes all day long, and we’ll have a great time. I like teaching kids about how trees grow and helping them understand, even at a basic level, that things like clearcuts are not necessarily bad. And when they learn that trees give us more than just oxygen, it’s just mind-blowing for them.”
Andrew says there’s a natural overlap between what he does at work and what he does with the kids. His goal is to teach not only the "what" but the "why."
“When I can get them to care about forests, trees become even more important to them,” he says. “But honestly, one of my talents is that I can easily interact with kids. I love being silly and goofy, and putting myself out there. It is so much fun for me to see kids learn.”
Over the years, Andrew has created lesson plans and camp activities for Holiday Lake to help kids and teens learn about tree identification, forest health, riparian ecosystems, forestry and the wood products business, and career opportunities. Andrew’s lessons have ranged from leaf rubbings with second graders to live prescribed burn demonstrations with high school students.
“Andrew’s positive impact on our programs here at Holiday Lake should not be understated,” Jack Wagstaff, the Natural Resource Education coordinator who runs the Holiday Lake summer camps, said when nominating Andrew for our Volunteer of the Year Award. “His involvement instantly makes any of our events a better experience for the youth participating, and his wealth of knowledge contributes to our goal of educating the next generation on Virginia's natural resources. Plus, his joyous personality is contagious. He’s a fantastic role model for our campers and students."
For his dedication to education and youth development, Andrew was named one of our 2024 Volunteers of the Year. As part of the award recognition, he received a $5,000 TREE-mendous Matching Gifts reward, which he will split between Holiday Lake and Daily Bread food pantry.
Andrew provides an in-the-woods demonstration to a group of kids at Holiday Lake.
MEET ANDREW
Tell us about your day job.
I work to ensure that we stay certified to Sustainable Forestry Initiative® standards. That entails training staff in our region to make sure we follow policies, rules, regulations and laws. I also build relationships with folks from government agencies and other external partners. At the end of the day, it’s about making sure everybody is practicing good forestry, and that good stuff is happening on the ground.
What did you think when you found out about the award?
I was floored! I feel so honored to be recognized. I really appreciate the ways Weyerhaeuser supports our communities, and having the opportunity to use my time and talent to volunteer for things I love. I’m also thankful to donate money to organizations right here in Virginia.
What motivates you to volunteer?
I like working with the kids, teaching them about forestry and trees. I also like the enjoyment of giving back. But mostly, it’s fun! I get a lot of energy out of it. I enjoy looking back on my day and wondering how many people I made smile. Did I make somebody's day better with a bad joke? If so, then that's a good day.
What are the community challenges you see that you're trying to address with this work?
Camp Woods and Wildlife is open to everyone in the state, so we get kids from all over — ranging from kids who hunt to kids worried about finding snakes on the trail. One fun thing I do is ask each kid to teach me about what’s unique in their area. Some only know about street trees, the ones in their yard. Many don’t know about what trees can do. We teach them how money actually can come from trees when wood products come from a managed forest, and how trees help keep people employed. We also talk about managing those trees for everybody’s use. It’s an interesting concept for kids.
Andrew teaches a group of kids at Holiday Lake.
What’s your favorite part of volunteering?
Seeing their smiles. Even if they don't learn anything, if they go away happier or had a good time, then that makes me happy. Whether they learn anything is actually secondary. I just want to make sure they have a good experience in the woods.
What have you learned by volunteering?
Kids are smarter than we often give them credit for. Some of them think in-depth, and it feels like every class thinks more about the environment than the class before them, which is great. Sometimes I need to help them look at things differently, which is interesting for me too. And you can never talk down to them.
What’s next in your volunteer plans for the year ahead?
I’ll keep volunteering at Holiday Lake. If it involves helping kids learn and getting the Goat — that’s me — out there to teach them, it's a good thing.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to give back but doesn't know how/where?
Think about what makes you happy. What do you enjoy doing? Find a friend to do it with; volunteer with people you like. Don’t hesitate to ask if someone needs volunteers. Just ask, ‘Can I help?’ Keep your eyes and ears open, because there are so many opportunities. And the relationships you build while volunteering pay dividends in so many other ways.
How are you distributing your $5,000 TREE-Mendous Matching Gifts grant?
I’ll probably give half of it to the Holiday Lake 4-H Center. I want to work with them to create a class to teach kids about fire as a tool in the natural resource environment. I think there would be a lot of interest in it. I’ll give the other half to Daily Bread, a local food pantry our office supports in Lynchburg. They do such good work, serving up to 800 hot lunches each day.
