Alamo Area Master Naturalist Patsy Kuentz blends her love for nature and community building, two passions that started early in her life.
She was born and reared in San Antonio, attending Edison High School in the Los Angeles Heights neighborhood. Her family didn’t have a lot of money, but the gifts her parents gave were priceless.
Her mother shared with her children an interest in the natural world. Patsy has an early memory of her mom bringing a Monarch chrysalis into the house. Patsy and her older sister kept it in a glass jar with holes in the lid until its metamorphosis was complete, and when the gorgeous butterfly emerged, they all shared a feeling of awe.
“She imparted a respect for all living things. My sister and I once came home from a bike ride with some tadpoles collected from a creek in our neighborhood. My mother insisted that we could keep them for only one night because she wanted to make sure they were well nourished. Her message was clear. ‘You don’t harm nature.’”
Patsy’s father taught her another key lesson. An electronic technician and watchmaker by trade and a member of a Masonic Lodge, he was also a handyman who lent his time to friends and neighbors needing assistance. He was always willing to help others, says Patsy, and she credits him with teaching her the satisfaction of volunteering.
Patsy attended college in San Antonio, Houston, and Austin and met her husband, Alan, on a blind date arranged by her sister. Four and a half years later in 1971, Patsy and Alan married and moved to Hawaii where he was stationed with the U.S. Navy. Patsy earned a B.S. in Nursing from the University of Hawaii-Manoa Campus and then later an M.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Through the years, she and Alan lived in various other states—Tennessee, Wisconsin, Minnesota. Patsy parlayed her medical and business skills into a 20 year career in medical clinic management. When she retired from full-time work, she created her own business in personal history, writing other people’s life stories for their families to enjoy.
While living in the Upper Midwest, Patsy and Alan decided they wanted a mutual hobby wherein they could spend more time together. They settled on birdwatching, which they have now enjoyed for over 40 years. Although they belonged to the St. Paul Audubon Society, many of their birding experiences happened right around their home in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a near in suburb of Minneapolis.
“Our house was adjacent to Wirth Park, a large park with many wooded areas. I remember one day we watched two pileated woodpeckers engaged in their mating dance on a tree right outside our living room window!”
Patsy and Alan returned to San Antonio in 2009, choosing to live near what is now Phil Hardberger Park (PHP) because of its beauty and the opportunity to connect with nature. In the fall of 2010, they became Master Naturalists with the Alamo Area Chapter.
“We loved every minute of the training,” she says, “especially because of its broad nature that touches on geology, weather, flora and fauna, ethnobotany, etc.”
Patsy and Alan have volunteered in numerous ways since their certification, retaining a special interest in PHP. Alan spearheaded the effort to establish the bird water feature near the Outdoor Classroom at the Park and continues to coordinate the volunteer group that maintains the feature. They both volunteer at the monthly bird survey of PHP. Patsy has been instrumental in developing and maintaining AAMN’s Wildscape Demonstration Garden, and Alan has developed the map of the Garden. Additionally, he is hard at work pulling unwanted saplings in the Garden. Together, they lead bird walks in PHP, a way to introduce both current and budding birders to the diversity of species there. In addition, they annually update the list of birds seen at PHP. Here is a link to a “virtual nature walk” through PHP that Patsy and Alan offered during the pandemic.
They also lead bird walks at the Land Heritage Institute and the Headwaters at Incarnate Word, as well as along Olmos Creek near their neighborhood.
Patsy is a member of both the Bexar and San Antonio Audubon Societies. Here is another link to a virtual presentation she gave for the San Antonio Audubon Society to introduce members to the history of PHP in addition to its birding opportunities.
Clearly, Patsy and Alan continue to live out their lives in ways that benefit others and the natural world.
“When I retired,” says Patsy, “I felt I had been given the gift of time. It offered me the opportunity to contribute to the community by giving to something I feel strongly about. Ideally, I wanted to combine my love of nature with my desire to build community, so becoming a Texas Master Naturalist was a perfect fit.
“I have always felt that I get far more out of volunteering than I give. It keeps my mind and body engaged because I’m continually learning something new. It has also been a delight to connect with like-minded people as we teach each other and grow together.”
You can connect with Patsy on Facebook here.
