Member profile: Rob Taylor
October 2018 – A violinist, lyricist, and librettist by profession, Rob Taylor is also a seasoned traveler whose birding trips have brought him around the world. He joined a Connecticut Audubon tour of Cuba as a guest seven years ago and returned to lead the tour as an EcoTravel volunteer the following year.
Since then, he’s gotten to know several repeat tour-goers, some of whom he saw in the audience when his musical was produced on Broadway: “We’ve become great friends in addition to fellow explorers of the natural world.”
“I love to teach and to get people excited about what they’re seeing and help them understand a little bit more what they’re actually looking at and the life history of the birds they’re seeing.
“The people who come on these trips are very knowledgeable and inquisitive and it just sparks a lot of great conversation and fantastic camaraderie. People are really along for the experience and not to just tick a bird off the list that they’re keeping. That I find really exciting. . . There’s a wonderful depth of knowledge and an incredible interest in the world at large that I find among participants in the Connecticut Audubon Society trips.
“Whenever you have the opportunity to visit any of these spectacular destinations and see some of the most incredible sites the natural world has to offer on all of these continents that Connecticut Audubon Society tours now go to, it can be a life-changing experience and certainly an experience you never forget. It’s thrilling, definitely thrilling, and that’s the probably single greatest benefit. As a volunteer, you get to have these incredible experiences and share them with other people.”
How being a volunteer relates to being a writer and musician:
“For me, there is for me a natural connection between the world-encompassing art form of music and literature and the way I can connect that to the natural world. Being a musician helps me. I have very trained ears, so it helps when I’m hearing calls and songs to identify different species.”
About the people he’s met:
“I love the fact that the people who come on these trips are not just interested in the natural history of a place, but seem to be very interested in the cultural history as well.”
“People that have been on my Connecticut Audubon Society trips have been incredibly well read. People who are interested in arts, interested in literature, interested in exploring new cultures. That’s one of the things that’s so fascinating. We aren’t just looking at birds, we’re looking at birds and learning about new cultures and exchanging ideas on art, philosophy, and literature and it all ties together.”
On getting to know tour participants:
“It does build incredible friendships. I’ve become friends with people that I now think of as lifelong friends that I didn’t know before I started leading Connecticut Audubon tours.”
Responsibilities as a volunteer:
“My first and foremost responsibility is to try to make sure everyone is getting as much out of the tour as they possibly can and seeing everything as clearly as they can and learning as much as I am able to help them learn.”
On being supported by the staff as a volunteer:
The real nitty gritty work…All of that is handled and it’s handled so expertly, it’s never been something I’ve had to worry a bit about. Andy Griswold does such a fantastic job setting up those tours…I’m really able to concentrate on spending time with the tour participants and deepening that experience any way I can.”
Interview by Liz Acas.
