Marijke Holtrop photographed the Assabet River NWR between 2001 and 2005 during the period after the property was transferred to the FWS and before it was open to the public. Her exquisite photographic record of the refuge was featured at the Friends Monthly Meeting in August 2009 titled "Four Seasons of the Assabet River NWR". Her photos grace the cover of the Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the Refuge and accompany the text, are on the Friends' brochures and accompany many other articles about the refuge.

Marijke was born in The Netherlands and arrived here in 1969. She spent many years as a researcher in orthopedics at the Children's Hospital Medical Center. She used photography first in her medical research to record both light and electron microscopic images of bone cells. Over time she learned to recognize an inherent underlying order of the components within the cells and in the relationships of the cells with their environs. Many of these photographs of the natural world inside of us were published in scientific articles and textbooks of histology. When she turned to color photography of the natural world outside of us, she became increasingly aware of a similar order underlying the beauty of shapes and colors, both within small objects such as flowers, leaves and feathers, and in their relationship to their environs. At times something would catch her special attention and inspire her to use the camera as a creative tool in expressing the harmony she perceived.

In Marijke's own words: The Refuge was my personal refuge, a "homecoming" in my personal life.

Assabet Keeping Track runs a wildlife monitoring program on the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge by permission of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. AKT is affiliated with the Friends of the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge. They were trained by Susan Morse at Keeping Track in Jericho Vermont. Their full photo gallery, set up by Donna and Peter Hollinger and other AKT members, can be found at www.pbase.com/akt.

Roland Stark has lived in Maynard, a stone’s throw from the Refuge, since 2006. He quickly developed a strong bond with the place and began volunteering with the Friends' Trails Committee, helping to maintain and improve the refuge's walkways. Recently he began photographing the area’s woods, waterways and swamps. He especially enjoys capturing the light and reflections that come off the water in different seasons.

Roland works at Maguire Associates in Concord, doing market research for colleges and universities. He also provides statistical and research consulting to people and organizations in various fields through his own firm, Integrative Statistics. Roland is married to Veronica Zolina, an attorney. They have a cat and two rescued greyhounds.