Feathered Friends Academy

Students will explore everything bird! We will cover basic facts about birds, along with ID skills that will enable them to ID birds in our area by sight and song. We will also dive into the role of birds in history, literature and art. There will be lots of fun activities and a few field trips planned to visit our feathered friends outside of the classroom. We will also touch on common threats to birds and offer simple strategies to help create a feather friendly world. 

Michelle was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. After meeting her husband, who was in the US Coast Guard, they spent the next 15 years stationed all over the United States. The Oregon Coast, Florida Keys, Napa Valley, Juneau, Alaska, and finally, the Keweenaw, where they have resided the past 6 years. After being stationed in Dollar Bay, her family fell in love with the area and decided to settle in the Copper Country.

Michelle has been a veterinary technician for over 25 years, and has focused on wild bird rehabilitation for the past 15 years. Michelle is the director of Keweenaw Wild Bird R.E.C., a local non profit whose mission is to provide rehabilitative care to sick, injured, and orphaned wild native birds. The non-profit mission also includes school-aged education and conservation projects helping local birds.

When Michelle is not helping wild birds, she is a substitute teacher at Dollar Bay-Tamarack school and an instructor for elementary outdoor field trips through the Michigan Technological University-Center for Science and Environmental Outreach.

Michelle is passionate about teaching kids the wonders of the natural world, especially those of the feathered variety.

She enjoys spending time at her homestead with her husband and daughter, along with their dogs and chickens. Michelle’s hobbies include gardening, cross country skiing, wildlife photography, hiking, and bird watching.