The Withywindle Nature Blog is authored by Cynthia Menard, a Naturalist of over 20 years. Cynthia has her Master of Science degree in Conservation Biology from Antioch University New England. She studied tracking at Antioch and the Walnut Hill Tracking School and received extensive training in natural history and ecology during her years working for Mass Audubon, Vermont Audubon, and the Nashua River Watershed Association. Although she loves teaching about all aspects of the natural world, her specialty areas are wild canines and tracking.
While working on her Master’s degree at Antioch, Cynthia co-coordinated a trip to Yellowstone National Park to study wolves and other large mammals within the Yellowstone ecosystem. Her thesis focused on tracking the movements of coyote, bobcat, fisher, and whitetail deer in a northern Massachusetts sanctuary, and mapping wildlife corridors from northern Massachusetts into southern New Hampshire.
See the Nature Writing page for information on Cynthia’s published writing and reviews of some of her programs.
Cynthia is a former Board Member of the Massachusetts Environmental Education Society (MEES) and former President and board member of the New England Environmental Education Alliance (NEEEA). As the NEEEA Board President, she co-coordinated and co-led a multi-year leadership summit (2014 – 2016) for leaders in the Environmental Education field, and coordinated and co-led NEEEA’s 2011 annual 3-day, 6-state conference in Massachusetts.
In 2022, Cynthia was contacted by shamanic spirits and embarked on a lengthy (and ongoing) spiritual journey. At the beginning of 2025, she started publicly serving as a shaman, offering classes, healing, and ceremonies in her tradition of Reindeer Shamanism. Visit her main site at InkwoodHealing.com for more information on her story and current offerings.
