Welcome Bella Oliva to the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary!

We’re excited to introduce a new face to the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary this summer—please join us in welcoming Bella to the team!

Bella is a current undergraduate student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor pursuing a Biochemistry major with a minor in Spanish. A self-proclaimed “Nature Nerd”, Bella is excited to educate others and hopefully learn a lot herself.

Education and the outdoors

When Bella was little, she often came home with pockets full of rocks, woodchips, and sticks. In spite of her Mother’s pleading, this stealing and studying of all things nature continued to make its way into both the house and Bella’s pockets. While she has since stopped putting woodchips in her pockets, the overlap of school and the outdoor world has never really gone away. Instead of on the playground, now you can see her throughout the year doing her homework outside while trying to befriend the squirrels. This summer, you can find her leading educational programs, guiding sanctuary tours, and getting people interested in all the beautiful nature Michigan has to offer.

Community connections

From construction work in Kentucky, to the public library’s fiber circle, to summer camp chaos, Bella has made it her mission to connect with and understand people from all walks of life. At the Bird Sanctuary, she hopes to continue to make these connections to inspire a love for the outdoors and a love of learning. Bella is a big believer that anyone can be a scientist, and is optimistic that her work can help people get roped into future KBS projects and activities.

When she’s not at the sanctuary, you can find Bella knitting, sewing, breaking her sewing machine, watching The Twilight Zone (the original series), and teaching herself new and unusual skills. If you happen to find her outside of her normal habitat, also known as her house, she will likely be on some coffee-inspired adventure, or possibly on her way to a puzzle competition.