��������

Aaron Keech, 39, has a wealth of experience in environmental science and field research with a variety of species. It was a natural fit for him to choose ECHO’s Animal Care Department as a place to volunteer upon moving to Burlington in September 2010. He wrote the center, interviewed with Director Steve Smith and immediately began volunteering twice weekly.

Keech explained that the staff wants animal care assistants to first and foremost “have a good eye for monitoring the health of ECHO’s animals.” He was responsible for feeding them and cleaning tanks and filter systems. He provided food for all the animals, from amphibians, salmonids and trout to sturgeon, bottom feeders that “suck the food right off the hand.” It was part of Keech’s routine to “get grubby and wet,” which he loved.