Each spring, the Field Conservation Department is excited to welcome our seasonal team members. These passionate naturalists play a vital role in helping us meet the demands of our conservation programs during our busiest season. We’d love for you to get to know these emerging leaders in conservation—so here are a few words of introduction from each of them, in their own voice.
Heather Nelson, Blanding’s Turtle Technician
Hello! My name is Heather Nelson and I am the blanding’s turtle technician. I graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in zoology and a minor in anthropology. I’ve had a lifelong love for nature, especially herps – my first pet was a corn snake when I was only two! Throughout my life I have gotten to work on nest monitoring and headstarting for Blanding’s turtles, done population surveys for amphibians during Big Nights in spring, and studied red-backed salamander movement ecology. I’m super excited to get to work with Blanding’s again! When I’m not lost in the woods or waist-deep in a pond I like to spend my time reading, writing, and learning different art mediums. My most recent project has been creating a series of linoprints inspired by my visits to natural history museums.
Hilary Lincoln, Conservation Educator
Hi! I’m Hilary – I am this season’s Conservation Educator. I graduated from Framingham State University in 2024 with a degree in Wildlife Biology. It is my dream to be a zookeeper, and I have been working towards that goal for the past couple years. I am so excited to be part of Zoo New England’s Conservation team and have been loving this experience. I find educating children on their HATCH field trips to be a very rewarding experience as I hope to inspire them to have a deep appreciation of the animals and environment around them. I have always loved finding frogs, snakes, and other critters whenever I could as a child, so I love that I am able to demonstrate and share my continued passion through this position! I have been having so much fun wading through the wetlands and contributing to Zoo New England’s conservation efforts.
Noah Goldthwait, Spotted Turtle Technician
Hello! My name is Noah Goldthwait, and I am one of Zoo New England’s Spotted Turtle field technicians. I am a 2023 graduate from the University of Rhode Island with a degree in Wildlife and Conservation Biology. I’ve had the opportunity to conduct field research throughout the United States on a variety of species. Highlights of my career include studying the endemic Sacramento Mountain Salamander in the mountains of New Mexico, conducting surveys on Clark’s Nutcrackers and Whitebark Pine in Yellowstone National Park, and, of course, my work with many turtle species. To date, I have worked with Wood Turtles, Eastern Box Turtles, Western Pond Turtles, and Spotted Turtles. I’m excited to be back conducting research in the Northeast and can’t wait to learn more about the nesting ecology of our local Spotted Turtles!
Patrick Delisle, Lead Spotted Turtle Technician
Howdy, my name is Patrick and I am a spotted turtle technician this season. Since graduating from Westfield State University, I have studied the spatial ecology of many different species. I have worked in the flooded prairies of Illinois and Ohio, the Mojave Desert, the bogs and swamps of Western Massachusetts, the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota, restored wetlands in eastern Texas, the barrier islands of Louisiana, and the bayous and rivers of southern Mississippi. Most of my research has been focused on threatened or endangered populations of turtles. My master’s thesis, which I will be completing this summer, is on the spatial ecology of a remnant Alligator Snapping Turtle population that escaped historical commercial harvest. I look forward to learning more about the spatial ecology of spotted turtles in my home state.
Maxim Elmaleh, Spotted Turtle Technician
Hello my name is Maxim Elmaleh, and this is my second year with ZNE. This year, I’m super excited to be focusing on spotted turtles! My favorite wildlife habitat is a marsh (fitting!) and I can’t wait to spend more time with the wetland flora and fauna this season. Some things I enjoy are canoeing, karaoke, foraging, dancing and saunas. The amphibian in the photo is a mudpuppy!
Rachel Biedak, Wood Turtle Technician
My name is Rachel and I am the Wood Turtle Field Technician. I Graduated Unity College with a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Management. I worked for six plus seasons on Duxbury Beach as a shore bird monitor to field technician. We located nests and monitored them until they hatched. Once the nest hatched we monitored to brood until chicks fledged. As the Wood Turtle technician at ZNE I radio track Wood Turtles and get biological data from them as well as change out the radio tags. During nesting season I locate the nesting females near the nest sites and monitor for nesting activity. Once a nest is found I cover it with mesh to protect the nest from predators. I am also helping with a camera study looking to see what specific predators would go after Wood Turtles. I look forward to many seasons with ZNE.
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