Editor’s Note: The work we do at Bird Rescue wouldn’t be possible without our amazing team of staff, volunteers, and board members! Read below to meet one of our stellar team members!
Meet Mark Johnston, Bird Rescue volunteer at our San Francisco Bay-Delta wildlife center since 2016. On Mark’s first day of retirement, he was passing by the Bird Rescue center on his way to breakfast with his wife. He saw a sign out front for our open house and decided to pop in and have a look. As he describes it, he was immediately greeted by a kind and welcoming group of people, eager to show him the birds, talk about our work, and give him a tour of the facilities. It didn’t take long before Mark realized that this was the type of place where he would want to spend his time in retirement. He filled out the paperwork, and has been with us ever since!
As an outdoorsman and a fly fisherman, Mark has always been intimately connected to nature. He describes himself as having a profound respect for the animal world and feels fortunate to get to work alongside the birds at the center. He loves working with the other volunteers and has enjoyed learning as much as he has about the patients at the center. Mark volunteers on a weekly basis and is also a part of our Bird Boosters club. He helps out with just about everything and anything we need and is one of few volunteers that work in both the administrative and clinical parts of the organization.
For Mark, the most important things in life are his family and friends. He enjoys being part of a community and is eager to help out in any way that he can for those that he cares about. He enjoys spending time with his wife of 37 years, his two sons, his extended family of close relatives, and his old workmates; he frequently travels between southern and northern California to be close to those that he loves.
When Mark is not at Bird Rescue, he can be found fishing with his nephew, tying his flies, traveling to northern California to see family, and sampling local culinary delights (his favorite is BBQ)!
We are so grateful to have a kind-hearted and dedicated volunteer like Mark, and enjoy his company just as much as he enjoys being at the center. Thank you, Mark, for all that you do!