Introducing Our New Column: Plants & Animals

Hello!

I am excited to present a monthly post about local environmental issues interspersed with some personal stories about the crazy menagerie and eco-travels that my wife Jane and I have had over the years.  I hope you enjoy them.  And thank you to Nicci Kadilak for having confidence in me and giving me this writing opportunity.  I promise to do my best!

Let me start by introducing myself:

I was born and raised in Lynn MA and lived there for the first 43 years of my life (except for 2 years of grad school).  I met my wife, Jane, in a teen bowling league a thousand years ago. (I like to say that I picked her up in an alley!) We have been married for 48 years and are childless by choice.  When asked if we have children, Jane will often respond, “None that are human.”  You will figure out what that means as you read my articles.

In 1994, we decided to move from Lynn and searched local communities. I literally stuck a pin in a map and drew a circle around what I estimated to be a 30-minute commute to where I was working in Winchester. Although I knew nothing about Burlington other than the Mall and Lahey Clinic, that’s where we ended up after looking at several options. It turned out to be a wonderful decision. We love this community, especially our Fox Hill/Boulder Drive neighborhood. I truly appreciate now the difference between a city (Lynn) and a town. Here I feel much more able to participate and contribute to the community at large with a lot less politics.

My education includes 12 years of Lynn public schools, a B.S. in Physics from Tufts University, and a M.S. in Medical Radiological Physics from Harvard University. It always amazes me how one small thing can affect the rest of your life. I had a biology teacher in Junior High who totally turned me off to Biology. A math teacher was my favorite teacher of all time and created my love for math. (Thank you, Mr. Hosker!) When it came time to pick a college major, I figured there would be few employment opportunities in math, so I opted for physics—the science I deemed would have the most math. That set the path for the rest of my college and working life.

I spent 37 years working for the US Food and Drug Administration, first in the lab in Winchester and then in the Investigations Branch in Stoneham. The first 30 years of that, I was active duty in the United States Public Health Service and stationed with FDA; the last 7 of those years, I was employed as a Civil Servant in the positions of Supervisory Investigator and then Assistant Director of Investigations for the New England District of FDA. Those last two were the hardest and the best positions I ever had! I retired from FDA in 2011, at the age of 59. (If you do not know what the US Public Health Service is, I encourage you to look it up. “USPHS” is the vanity license plate on my truck!)

Much later in life I realized my true love was nature and the environment, and that I probably should have majored in biology. (Darn that other Jr. High teacher!) When I retired, after 18 years of school; 37 years with FDA; and 30 (concurrent) years studying and teaching martial arts (That’s another whole story!), I sniffed around for a 4^th career. That’s when I discovered the Burlington Conservation Commission and Town Meeting membership.

Jane and I have been gardening, raising animals, and watching nature together for 50 years, and that’s where I find myself today.

I look forward to connecting with you through my stories!

Bill

Bill Boivin is a scientist, retired from 30 years of active duty with the United States Public Health Service.  He is a Burlington Town Meeting Member and Conservation Commissioner.  He and his wife, Jane, grew up in Lynn and now live in Burlington with their 2 mini dachshunds, 7 chickens, and Maya, a ball python.  Bill and Jane have shared a love of nature, gardening, and wildlife for over 50 years.  They have fostered, healed, raised, and loved a remarkable variety of animals in their time together.