Friends of the Blue Hills is proud to introduce our new Volunteer and Education Program Manager, John Harrell. As a five-year member of the United States Forest Service in Bozeman, Montana, John has cleared miles of impacted trail, rehabilitated wilderness campsites, and even traveled to Gila National Forest to work in burn areas. With years of hands-on conservation experience, John is ready to build stronger connections between our Blue Hills Reservation and the people who love it, leading our volunteer efforts to new heights. 

Friends of the Blue Hills: Before we talk about you coming on board with FBH, what is something about you that people might not guess just from looking at your job title?

John Harrell: I’ve done a lot of half marathons, and I’m a good fly-fisher—or I used to be! I’m not fluent but can speak two foreign languages: German and Spanish. I love sports, and I know the community in Boston’s really big. In Montana, I didn’t have anyone to talk sports with, so I’ve been missing out on that part of my life.

FBH: How did you find out about FBH?

John: I’m originally from Richmond, Virginia, but I’ve lived in Illinois, Massachusetts, and most recently Montana. When I lived in Massachusetts, I volunteered once at the Blue Hills and had a great experience! My manager from the Student Conservation Association in Massachusetts emailed me in Montana about a perfect opportunity with FBH, and everything sounded great! My partner lives out here, and I’ve always loved the Boston community. I had envisioned moving back to Massachusetts, and I don’t think it could have happened any better than with this organization.

FBH: What inspired you to join FBH, and how does it align with what’s valuable to you?

John: I’ve always loved working for nonprofits. I think the people that work for them are in it for the right reasons. They give a lot back to the community. Working for the Forest Service in Montana allowed me to work with volunteers and see the passion they have every day to come out into the wild—they’re not getting paid, they’re here on their own time. That has always driven me to be better at what I do. Being out [in the park] on Sunday doing the Widowmaker hike and seeing how passionate, how happy, people were—I love being part of that kind of stuff.

Interested in volunteering? You’ll find in-park opportunities that are open to volunteers right in our online calendar.
Not sure what you’d like to do? Visit the Volunteer & Programs section of our website to learn about other ways you can volunteer with FBH.

FBH: You’re coming from a much bigger acreage of open space. Are there any challenges that might pop up along the way?

John: Yeah, the biggest challenge so far is that I’m used to being out in the field, so learning the operations behind the scenes, the paperwork, the forms… I’m just trying to take it one day at a time and retain as much information as I can.

FBH: How does your involvement with environmental conservation work reflect the passions that you have, what makes you, well, you?

John: How I got from growing up to where I am now, it was just me and my brother, honestly, until high school and college. We never did any recreation; we would always stay inside and play video games all day. Then, I moved to Massachusetts and did one backpacking trip here. Ever since that day, I’ve been completely different. I moved to Montana, didn’t have any camping gear, and didn’t own a tent. I bought it all and just went out there. Five years later, here I am. Hopefully, someone else in this community can come into the park and realize you can move out, come volunteer, do trailwork. You can make the trails better just in one day or three hours at a time. And make yourself better, too.

FBH: That’s such a nice story. I think we could help other people have those kinds of transformational moments, and that makes all the difference.

John: Yeah, technology has done many great things for us, but it also has caused some harm. It’s just easy to get entertainment right in your hands, you know? You don’t have to make it yourself anymore.

FBH: It sounds like you’re excited to do the work that needs to be done. Where do you hope to leave your mark?

John: From the sound of it, the people that come out here and do trailwork, they know what they’re talking about. I’ve got five years of professional experience, and I want to be able to pass along my knowledge to the members of our community, so that the trailwork we do out here in the Blue Hills is to a standard that I want to maintain. If we go to that standard and we promote that standard, then I know our trails will be in great shape for years to come.