Fox Run Environmental Education Center

I have started a Patreon Page so that I can enlarge my community and give people a safe space to discuss issues. I will be on Patreon answering questions and joining in on discussions.

Patreon will in no way replace YouTube and this blog. I will still be creating new videos and blogs weekly. I want to be able to discuss some topics more in-depth and some topics that the algorithm doesn't always favor such as medicinal herbs and wildlife rehabilitation topics.

As always I will be posting content on the things that are part of Fox Run's mission. Organic gardening, wildlife conservation & rehabilitation, and environmental education. I have been passionate about science, animals, and plants since I was a small child.

Patreon Membership Tiers

So these are the tiers. As with everything I do I try to make it affordable and offer good value. The Exploring tier is $4 a month. So here is what you get for your monthly contribution.

Everyone gets posts, bonus videos, and community chat. And you can vote on topics. You can comment and ask questions on the post topics. If you would like you get a member shout-out on the YouTube videos.

Also on the basic Exploring level, For educators, homeschoolers, and families there will be lesson plans and some fun kid-friendly digital downloads.

At the Trouble Maker level for $7 per month, it includes everything in Exploring plus there will be two Zoom or Google Meet-themed discussions. Each month there will be one for gardening and one for wildlife. Also at this level, I will send you a winter holiday card - a real card because I'm that old!

Collections

Patreon has a way of organizing posts called Collections. I am using this feature to organize posts so that you can find the information you want quickly.

Fox Run is a 501c3 non-profit with an education focus. My goal is to give clear, solid information and advise and share about the topics I love. So any questions?

Who Is Ame Vanorio

So if you have just stumbled across this page or my Patreon page and want to know who the hell I am…

This is me.

I grew up on a traditional Kentucky farm with horses, cattle, and tobacco. I later had my own farms and spent 29 years living off grid raising organic produce and selling at farmer’s markets. I have graduate degrees in education and environmental science and have taught in public schools and for non-profits. I worked for the National Wildlife Federation and the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History back in the day. And spent 15 years and counting in wildlife rehabilitation.

Wildlife

I have loved animals my whole life and was lucky enough to grow up on a farm where we had lots of pets, horses, and livestock. I grew up in the 1970s and early ’80s before wildlife rehabilitation laws even existed.

People were always bringing me wild and domestic animals that had been hurt or orphaned. My parents had a wonderful vet who was always willing to guide me and help me with my “babies”. In high school, I spent many Saturdays going on farm calls with him as his helper.

During college, I worked for the National Wildlife Federation teaching wildlife conservation and Environmental Education.

I became a science and special education teacher while doing vet assistant work on the side. It was only a matter of time before that morphed into becoming a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. At that time Fox Run Environmental Education Center became a non-profit and I was rehabbing 100 – 150 babies per year.

Organic Gardening

My family had a large garden, a flock of bared rock chickens and a hog out back. The joke in my family is that I was horrible at housework and was no help to my mother. My father would send me to the garden to hoe potatoes where kicking off my shoes I was totally happy. I was put in charge of the garden where following my hero John Seymour I started using organic practices and working towards self-sufficiency.

In 1993, after college, I purchased my first piece of land. Twenty acers on a dirt road in rural Adams County, Ohio. My oldest son and I moved there in late February of that year, living in a tent that first spring while we began house construction.

 In 2000 I sold that property, making a good profit, and moved back to Cincinnati with my children. During the time I was "trapped" in the city - for indeed I did feel trapped- I refined my gardening skills which had been condensed from three acres to a 20x16  cement courtyard and 3x6 front garden.

In October of 2006 I purchased 11.5 acers in my home state of Kentucky. Once again I was on a dirt road with just a piece of land and a dream.