DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) – Joey Anthony spends his days keeping the lights on across Illinois, but when the workday ends, he trades in engineering plans for conservation projects aimed at protecting the environment.

Anthony, who has worked at Ameren Illinois for 13 years, is also a certified Master Naturalist through the University of Illinois Extension . He told WAND News his love of the outdoors began early, but grew stronger during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Growing up in Bourbonnais on the Kankakee River, I learned to love being outdoors,” Anthony said. “During COVID, we started hiking a lot and spending more time outside, and I started wanting to know what things were—what that bird was, what kind of tree is that, what’s that prairie grass."

Anthony completed the University of Illinois

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