Remember Special Moose Hill Volunteer Through New Nature Play Area

With the arrival of spring, many of us who love Mass Audubon’s Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary are excited to hike and explore the trails, and get close to nature once again. Perhaps you already participated in the maple sugaring festival last month. In years past you may have had the pleasure of taking a guided tour with longtime volunteer Cookie Gebler, who loved Moose Hill in every season. Cookie passed away on December 22, 2014.

To honor her memory and her love of Moose Hill, Cookie’s family is raising funds to support the creation of Cookie’s Garden, an innovative nature play area in the front yard of the Nature Center. This area will serve as an additional place to enjoy the beauty of this sanctuary. By reaching the fundraising goal, this nature play area may incorporate secret places, opportunities for sensory explorations, or perhaps gardens that are structured or unstructured for beauty, food, and habitat.

Last August Cookie rode 50 miles in the Pan Mass Challenge to raise money for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. As she struggled up Moose Hill Street on the second half of the course, friends gathered in front of Moose Hill’s Nature Center to cheer her on, and that spot became known as “Cookie’s Corner” among friends and family.

Please take a moment to support the creation of this important addition to Moose Hill and to remember Cookie Gebler, who guided all who knew her in the importance of living life to the fullest. Click here for more details and the link to the campaign. Come to Moose Hill this Sunday, May 3, between 4 and 5:30 pm to learn more about nature play at Mass Audubon, and hear more details about Cookie’s Garden from the Gebler family (at 4:30 pm). Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary is located at 293 Moose Hill Parkway, Sharon.