November 9, 2025 • 11 mins
We spoke with Gerri Griswold, Director of Administration and Development at the White Memorial Conservation Center, about upcoming free events at the conservation center including a performance of the timeless music from A Charlie Brown Christmas on December 13.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. I'm
Allison Demrz. My guest this morning is my friend Jerry Griswold.
She is director of Administration and Development at the White
Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield. Good morning, Jerry.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Good morning Allison. Thank you so much for having me.
You know how much I love you.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Oh my God, I love you, and I love White Memorial.
My children would go maybe every weekend. For those who
don't know about the White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield,
give us an overview.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
We are of four thousand acre wildlife sanctuary nestled in Lichfield,
and we've got forty miles of hiking trails. We have
free camping for nonprofit groups, we have family camping during
the summer. And at the epicenter of our main campus
risks our beautiful nature museum, and in the nature museum, well,
it's one of the most beautiful natural history museums in
(00:51):
the state. But it also houses conservation education and research
that goes on here at White Memorial. So part of
the thing with White Memorial is that we do adults
and children educational programs year round and hikes, concerts. There's
all sorts of incredible research. If you're a scientific minded person,
(01:12):
you want to volunteer for research, you can contact a
research director. We have a lot of volunteer opportunities to
but our main objective is to get families outdoors and
particularly lead to teach families and children in particular the
wonders that they have in their own backyard. And I
don't care whether you live in a backyard that is
expansive that has no nextdoor neighbors, or whether you have
(01:36):
a backyard in an urban area. There's nature out there,
and nature's the best friend you can possibly have. You
just sad to be educated about it, to know these
gifts that await you every time you walk outside.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Absolutely, it's so true. We've walked around the premises out there,
and I love inside the museum where you have the
window to just see all of the hummingbirds. You just
sit in that chair and take it in. Absolutely beautiful.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
It really is. This piece of property is a sensory overload.
The whole I think our whole conversation today really involves
around giving. Not everybody can be as generous as Elaine
in May, who gave us four thousand acres of open
space back in nineteen thirteen. But the art of giving
is such an important thing, and I think it's just
an important thing to teach children. You should never receive
(02:24):
something in the person that's giving it to you expect
something in return. The Whites expected nothing in return. They
were just giving us this sanctuary. And I think it's
profound that their gift of land helped people in Covid
and it helped them during the nineteen thirteen to fifteen
Spanish flu epidemic. So I think the Whites were ever
(02:46):
dimension they're in today, would be thrilled to know what
their gift has done for so many.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
And speaking of giving, with the holiday season, what events
do you have going on?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
We have lots of great stuff. At first, I'm going
to begin on December fifth. It's an evening sip and
shop and we have a museum open house between five
and seven and you can come in and nibble on
delicious things, and we have vendors selling locally made items.
We try to support all the incredible artisans that are
in our area and you can just walk around the
(03:17):
museum and enjoy the gorgeous tableaus that we have here.
But also do some Christmas shopping. That's December fifth. On
December sixth, I have two programs that begin in the
morning at ten am. One is Wildlife in Winter with
our environmental educator, Colleen Herrick, and she's going to using
some live animals teach families. This is a kid oriented program,
(03:40):
but good for adults too, Teach them all about our
wildlife and winter, what do they do, where they go
and what can they see. And then Kelly or who
is our administrative assistant, does an incredible program for very
young children called Tiny Trekking and parents come out with
their toddlers and they just go out on experiential walk
(04:01):
and they could be out for half an hour or
an hour, it depends, you know how fussy kids are
at that age. All of these programs are free and
all you have to do is go to our website
White Memorial cc dot org and sign up for them.
They're all free of charge. Again, the whole thing is
to get families out in nature and to get kids
(04:21):
out in nature. And remember, Allison, there's no such thing
as bad weather, only bad clothing for clothing. But really,
our big showstopper is going to be December thirteenth. I
am so excited about this concert because it is truly
the spirit of Christmas. First of all, have you ever
(04:42):
heard anybody perform the live soundtrack of a Charlie Brown Christmas?
Have you ever heard that in person?
Speaker 1 (04:49):
I don't think so.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Now well, now here's your chance, Allison. So on December
thirteenth at two pm in our carriage house, we are
having the Jared Caddie Trio. It's like a jazz I mean,
just the music from Charlie Ron Christmas. They're going to
play the entire soundtrack and it's a great family program.
It is free of charge because we have an incredibly
(05:11):
generous donor who's making this possible. And kids can dance around,
adults can dance around. We don't care. We're not judging.
We won't videotape it. You want to come out and dance,
come out and dance. So that's Saturday, December thirteenth at
two pm in our carriage house. But our donor, our sponsor,
(05:31):
is giving us this program so that the public who
is coming for free can bring warm hats, scarves, socks, slippers,
mittens to benefit our beautiful shelter in Torrington Fish of
Northwestern Connecticut. We've coupled over the several years doing benefits
at Christmas time to help these people in need. They're
(05:54):
the neediest, and of course for me, once again, it's
this beautiful art of giving. You're teaching your children that
we're going out for this beautiful day and we're helping
people that need help. We'll take cash donations for fish too,
but the Conservation Center gets nothing from this other than
we feel really good that we're able to do it.
So again, that is Jared Catty Trio presenting Guitar of
(06:16):
the Brown Christmas at White Memorial in our carriage house
on December thirteenth at two pm. Please sign up. There
will be secrets and surprises and we need to know
how many people were secreting and surprising.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
And people can sign up at Wide memorialcc dot org.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Yep. Just go on to our calendar of events and
while you're on the calendar, just look at all the
other things we have to offer. Lots of free hiking
for adults and children, lots of children's programming. There are
children's programs the week after Christmas as well as our
education director Carriage that has one day fun days for
different ages of kids. Those are for a nominal fee,
(06:57):
and we do provide financial aid for families that we
can't make those fees. So just look at our calendar
of events, and we have programming up right now through
the first of January, and I'm about raty to load
in winter with all of our programming. Take a breather,
come out into nature, enjoy some of the three programming,
(07:19):
and you know, just and take a chill pill.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
And yeah, so well said if somebody would like to volunteer,
could they also.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Yeah, yeah, if you'd like to volunteer, you can go
on to our website and again there is a tab
on our website.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
I love that place, my children love that place. I
want everyone to love that place.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Thank you Ellison. We're very, very honored the eleven of
us that work here full time to carry the mantle
for Elaine in May and hopefully again wherever they are today,
they're smiling down and saying, Yeah, this is what we wanted,
this is what I get, you know, kind of teary
eyed just talking about because I just feel so strongly
(08:02):
about how they gave all of this to us without
wanting anything in return. They just cared about They cared
about us. They cared about children, They cared about families,
They cared about the sick. Their objective was to obtain
one hundred percent of the land around Bantam Lake, which
is Connecticut's largest natural lake that you can see it
(08:25):
actually practically from my office. And they managed to acquire
sixty percent of that and on that land were camps
that were set up for children, local children and kids
even far away children. There were homes for sick people
on Bantam Lake for a while. They were all there
because of.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Elene and med What kind of positive impact have you
seen on the children and the families who visited.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Well, you know, I came to White Memorial because of
my connection with bats and for me personally, to teach
children greater for example, and this is a true story,
and have them complete a PhD where their focus is
a study of white nose syndrome. For me, I'm not
(09:12):
a biologist and I'm not a certified educator. I'm just
a passionate person that believes in stuff. And when you
have young people returning to you who are all grown
up now and have chosen a life of either being
an environmental educator or a naturalist of some sort, or
a biologist, and you know that you had your hand
(09:34):
in that through this organization that I can't ask for
a better gift. That is the best gift of all.
And I really feel we here have an extraordinary group
of educators. I mean, I think that we're the best
of the best. Our education director, Carrie shed is just
(09:56):
a phenom. And I'm not saying that because she's sitting
two inches away from me now. Honestly, she's one of
the most gifted naturalists and educators. And you know, she's
a bit younger than I am, and I would, you know,
come back with these stories about kids that I had
taught that are all grown up now and they're pursuing,
you know, careers in bad education. And Carrie a few
(10:19):
years ago was that hasn't happened to me yet. It's like, oh,
it will. And now she's been here ten years and
now she's getting at kids like little things that used
to go through her programs. Are no grown ups doing
volunteer work here or becoming environmental educators. Again, you can't
get at a better gift than that, So, you know,
(10:40):
but we also have this incredible laboratory here, this incredible
four thousand acres sanctuary. Just come out for a hike,
and you know, see what we're flapping our gums about.
But it all comes with education. Allison. Yes, you can
walk a trail, but when you're educated about what's out
there on a trail, not everything has for and eyes
(11:02):
and make sounds. Plants have stories too, rock they have
stories too. Every single thing outside has a story, and
those are stories that can sustain you through really rotten times.
You know, nature is something that is always out there
for you. The only thing that ever asked in return
is that you protect it.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
I'm speaking with Jerry Grisweld, director of Administration and Development
at the White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield. If you'd
like to go to the sip and shop on December fifth,
or the Wildlife and Winter program on December sixth, or
especially a Charlie Brown Christmas on December thirteenth, just go
to White MEMORIALCC dot org. You can donate, you can volunteer,
(11:45):
and you can see all of their amazing programs. Jerry,
thank you so much for being here today and for
all of the amazing work that you've been doing.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Thank you, Allison, thank you so much for the opportunity
and again I adore you
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. I'm
Allison Demrz. My guest this morning is my friend Jerry Griswold.
She is director of Administration and Development at the White
Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield. Good morning, Jerry.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Good morning Allison. Thank you so much for having me.
You know how much I love you.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Oh my God, I love you, and I love White Memorial.
My children would go maybe every weekend. For those who
don't know about the White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield,
give us an overview.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
We are of four thousand acre wildlife sanctuary nestled in Lichfield,
and we've got forty miles of hiking trails. We have
free camping for nonprofit groups, we have family camping during
the summer. And at the epicenter of our main campus
risks our beautiful nature museum, and in the nature museum, well,
it's one of the most beautiful natural history museums in
(00:51):
the state. But it also houses conservation education and research
that goes on here at White Memorial. So part of
the thing with White Memorial is that we do adults
and children educational programs year round and hikes, concerts. There's
all sorts of incredible research. If you're a scientific minded person,
(01:12):
you want to volunteer for research, you can contact a
research director. We have a lot of volunteer opportunities to
but our main objective is to get families outdoors and
particularly lead to teach families and children in particular the
wonders that they have in their own backyard. And I
don't care whether you live in a backyard that is
expansive that has no nextdoor neighbors, or whether you have
(01:36):
a backyard in an urban area. There's nature out there,
and nature's the best friend you can possibly have. You
just sad to be educated about it, to know these
gifts that await you every time you walk outside.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Absolutely, it's so true. We've walked around the premises out there,
and I love inside the museum where you have the
window to just see all of the hummingbirds. You just
sit in that chair and take it in. Absolutely beautiful.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
It really is. This piece of property is a sensory overload.
The whole I think our whole conversation today really involves
around giving. Not everybody can be as generous as Elaine
in May, who gave us four thousand acres of open
space back in nineteen thirteen. But the art of giving
is such an important thing, and I think it's just
an important thing to teach children. You should never receive
(02:24):
something in the person that's giving it to you expect
something in return. The Whites expected nothing in return. They
were just giving us this sanctuary. And I think it's
profound that their gift of land helped people in Covid
and it helped them during the nineteen thirteen to fifteen
Spanish flu epidemic. So I think the Whites were ever
(02:46):
dimension they're in today, would be thrilled to know what
their gift has done for so many.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
And speaking of giving, with the holiday season, what events
do you have going on?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
We have lots of great stuff. At first, I'm going
to begin on December fifth. It's an evening sip and
shop and we have a museum open house between five
and seven and you can come in and nibble on
delicious things, and we have vendors selling locally made items.
We try to support all the incredible artisans that are
in our area and you can just walk around the
(03:17):
museum and enjoy the gorgeous tableaus that we have here.
But also do some Christmas shopping. That's December fifth. On
December sixth, I have two programs that begin in the
morning at ten am. One is Wildlife in Winter with
our environmental educator, Colleen Herrick, and she's going to using
some live animals teach families. This is a kid oriented program,
(03:40):
but good for adults too, Teach them all about our
wildlife and winter, what do they do, where they go
and what can they see. And then Kelly or who
is our administrative assistant, does an incredible program for very
young children called Tiny Trekking and parents come out with
their toddlers and they just go out on experiential walk
(04:01):
and they could be out for half an hour or
an hour, it depends, you know how fussy kids are
at that age. All of these programs are free and
all you have to do is go to our website
White Memorial cc dot org and sign up for them.
They're all free of charge. Again, the whole thing is
to get families out in nature and to get kids
(04:21):
out in nature. And remember, Allison, there's no such thing
as bad weather, only bad clothing for clothing. But really,
our big showstopper is going to be December thirteenth. I
am so excited about this concert because it is truly
the spirit of Christmas. First of all, have you ever
(04:42):
heard anybody perform the live soundtrack of a Charlie Brown Christmas?
Have you ever heard that in person?
Speaker 1 (04:49):
I don't think so.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Now well, now here's your chance, Allison. So on December
thirteenth at two pm in our carriage house, we are
having the Jared Caddie Trio. It's like a jazz I mean,
just the music from Charlie Ron Christmas. They're going to
play the entire soundtrack and it's a great family program.
It is free of charge because we have an incredibly
(05:11):
generous donor who's making this possible. And kids can dance around,
adults can dance around. We don't care. We're not judging.
We won't videotape it. You want to come out and dance,
come out and dance. So that's Saturday, December thirteenth at
two pm in our carriage house. But our donor, our sponsor,
(05:31):
is giving us this program so that the public who
is coming for free can bring warm hats, scarves, socks, slippers,
mittens to benefit our beautiful shelter in Torrington Fish of
Northwestern Connecticut. We've coupled over the several years doing benefits
at Christmas time to help these people in need. They're
(05:54):
the neediest, and of course for me, once again, it's
this beautiful art of giving. You're teaching your children that
we're going out for this beautiful day and we're helping
people that need help. We'll take cash donations for fish too,
but the Conservation Center gets nothing from this other than
we feel really good that we're able to do it.
So again, that is Jared Catty Trio presenting Guitar of
(06:16):
the Brown Christmas at White Memorial in our carriage house
on December thirteenth at two pm. Please sign up. There
will be secrets and surprises and we need to know
how many people were secreting and surprising.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
And people can sign up at Wide memorialcc dot org.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Yep. Just go on to our calendar of events and
while you're on the calendar, just look at all the
other things we have to offer. Lots of free hiking
for adults and children, lots of children's programming. There are
children's programs the week after Christmas as well as our
education director Carriage that has one day fun days for
different ages of kids. Those are for a nominal fee,
(06:57):
and we do provide financial aid for families that we
can't make those fees. So just look at our calendar
of events, and we have programming up right now through
the first of January, and I'm about raty to load
in winter with all of our programming. Take a breather,
come out into nature, enjoy some of the three programming,
(07:19):
and you know, just and take a chill pill.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
And yeah, so well said if somebody would like to volunteer,
could they also.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Yeah, yeah, if you'd like to volunteer, you can go
on to our website and again there is a tab
on our website.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
I love that place, my children love that place. I
want everyone to love that place.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Thank you Ellison. We're very, very honored the eleven of
us that work here full time to carry the mantle
for Elaine in May and hopefully again wherever they are today,
they're smiling down and saying, Yeah, this is what we wanted,
this is what I get, you know, kind of teary
eyed just talking about because I just feel so strongly
(08:02):
about how they gave all of this to us without
wanting anything in return. They just cared about They cared
about us. They cared about children, They cared about families,
They cared about the sick. Their objective was to obtain
one hundred percent of the land around Bantam Lake, which
is Connecticut's largest natural lake that you can see it
(08:25):
actually practically from my office. And they managed to acquire
sixty percent of that and on that land were camps
that were set up for children, local children and kids
even far away children. There were homes for sick people
on Bantam Lake for a while. They were all there
because of.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Elene and med What kind of positive impact have you
seen on the children and the families who visited.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Well, you know, I came to White Memorial because of
my connection with bats and for me personally, to teach
children greater for example, and this is a true story,
and have them complete a PhD where their focus is
a study of white nose syndrome. For me, I'm not
(09:12):
a biologist and I'm not a certified educator. I'm just
a passionate person that believes in stuff. And when you
have young people returning to you who are all grown
up now and have chosen a life of either being
an environmental educator or a naturalist of some sort, or
a biologist, and you know that you had your hand
(09:34):
in that through this organization that I can't ask for
a better gift. That is the best gift of all.
And I really feel we here have an extraordinary group
of educators. I mean, I think that we're the best
of the best. Our education director, Carrie shed is just
(09:56):
a phenom. And I'm not saying that because she's sitting
two inches away from me now. Honestly, she's one of
the most gifted naturalists and educators. And you know, she's
a bit younger than I am, and I would, you know,
come back with these stories about kids that I had
taught that are all grown up now and they're pursuing,
you know, careers in bad education. And Carrie a few
(10:19):
years ago was that hasn't happened to me yet. It's like, oh,
it will. And now she's been here ten years and
now she's getting at kids like little things that used
to go through her programs. Are no grown ups doing
volunteer work here or becoming environmental educators. Again, you can't
get at a better gift than that, So, you know,
(10:40):
but we also have this incredible laboratory here, this incredible
four thousand acres sanctuary. Just come out for a hike,
and you know, see what we're flapping our gums about.
But it all comes with education. Allison. Yes, you can
walk a trail, but when you're educated about what's out
there on a trail, not everything has for and eyes
(11:02):
and make sounds. Plants have stories too, rock they have
stories too. Every single thing outside has a story, and
those are stories that can sustain you through really rotten times.
You know, nature is something that is always out there
for you. The only thing that ever asked in return
is that you protect it.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
I'm speaking with Jerry Grisweld, director of Administration and Development
at the White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield. If you'd
like to go to the sip and shop on December fifth,
or the Wildlife and Winter program on December sixth, or
especially a Charlie Brown Christmas on December thirteenth, just go
to White MEMORIALCC dot org. You can donate, you can volunteer,
(11:45):
and you can see all of their amazing programs. Jerry,
thank you so much for being here today and for
all of the amazing work that you've been doing.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Thank you, Allison, thank you so much for the opportunity
and again I adore you
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