PENN TWP — Nature lovers, bird enthusiasts and others looking for a place to volunteer have a golden opportunity to spend time with like-minded people in a gorgeous Western Pennsylvania setting.

Karen Stein, the Butler centers director at Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, said she is looking for volunteers to work in the Audubon Nature Store in the charming renovated basement of the historic barn on the Succop Nature Park property at the intersection of Route 8 and West Airport Road.

The store staff now consists of Stein; Larissa Cassano-Hamilton, Butler center coordinator; and three volunteers.

Stein said having a bigger pool of volunteers would mean she and Cassano-Hamilton could spend more time planning events and programs for the 50-acre nature park on Airport Road.

Stein said while the store opened in 2019, the pandemic interfered with its kickoff.

The store is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Audubon Nature Stores also welcome customers at Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve in Fox Chapel and Buffalo Creek Nature Park in Buffalo Township.

“The goal is to have the same hours at every store,” Stein said.

Volunteers will work four-hour shifts after attending a training at one of the Audubon properties on how to operate the point-of-service system at the store, Stein said.

The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania obtained the nature park in 2011, and has been expanding its programs and services ever since.

While it remains a wedding venue, the nature park also welcomes home-school groups, retirement community groups, Butler Area and Knoch student programs, and various nature programs for young and old.

Kitty Furar, of Summit Township, has served as a volunteer at the nature park for about a decade.

In years past, she led programs like the Birds and More Nature Walk, Summer Nights and Fireflies and other offerings.

“They’re always a lot of fun,” Furar said.

In 2020, she began working at the nature store once or twice per week during the abbreviated pandemic hours.

“I really believe in their mission and I wanted to contribute to that,” Furar said of serving as a volunteer at Succop Nature Park and with the Audubon Society.

That mission, according to the Audubon Society website, is conserving and restoring natural ecosystems and focusing on birds, wildlife and their habitats to help shapes the commonwealth’s conservation agenda.

She said visitors often tell her they can’t wait to come back to the nature park.

“I love being a part of that,” Furar said. “It’s truly a wonderful place.”

She said Audubon Society officials make it easy to volunteer, as they do their best to pair volunteers with tasks in their areas of interest and are flexible on hours.

“You can volunteer the amount of time you’re able to,” Furar said. “It could be an hour, a day or two per week, or once a month.”

Also, volunteering at the Succop Nature Park is fun.

“The group of people there are just great and it’s a beautiful setting,” Furar said.

Robin Catt is a newer, yet equally as enthusiastic volunteer at the nature park.

Catt, of Center Township, has served as a volunteer for a little more than one year.

“I was interested because I just love birds,” Catt said. “We have a lot of property at my place, and we feed birds, raccoons, deer and anything else that walks onto the property.”

She enjoys working in the nature store because of the diverse and interesting products for young and old alike.

In addition to birdseed, birdhouses and other avian-related merchandise, the store also offers items like gifts, books, local honey and maple syrup.

“It’s a fun way to talk to people,” Catt said. “People who love birds come in and ask a lot of questions.”

She also enjoys the trails at the nature park, where she can view turtles, geese, rabbits, deer and other wildlife.

“If you are someone who enjoys nature and enjoys supporting the environment, it’s a place to be able to do that,” Catt said of volunteering at the nature park. “and the other part of it is certainly talking to the people who come into the store.”

On Thursday, Catt will attend a training at the Beechwood Farms facility on different types of birdfeeders and their features.

“It is just a very nice, relaxed atmosphere,” she said. “People are so friendly and it’s really a good way to escape into nature.”

To be considered for a volunteer position at the Audubon Nature Store at Succop Nature Park, email lcassanohamilton@aswp.org, call 724-586-2591 or stop in at the store at 185 W. Airport Road, Butler, using the entrance by the red barn.