Who We Are
The people behind the pitstops
Pitstop for the Birds was born from a simple, urgent question: what if the places we’re already building could also restore what we’ve lost? Our team brings together ecology, design, education, and community — united by a shared belief that when we restore habitat, we restore relationship.
Our Founder
Sadie Walters — Founder & Executive Director
Sadie Walters — Executive Director & Founder
Our Founder
Sadie's earliest memory is an anatomy lesson on a brook trout — her father spreading the contents of a tiny stomach across his thumb at the headwaters of the Tuckasegee River, pointing out stonefly larvae and caddisfly legs. A quiet lesson in how the world works: everything feeds everything else, and we are part of that system.
She studied art and environmental education at Warren Wilson College, where she led the Native Plant Landscaping Crew — selecting wild plants, harvesting seed, and designing habitat. In 2007, she heard entomologist Doug Tallamy speak about plant-insect-bird relationships, and the trajectory of her work sharpened: native plants were not just beautiful — they were the foundation of the food web.
Sadie went on to earn a graduate degree in landscape architecture from NC State University, where she designed spaces that centered human-nature connection. But working in traditional landscape architecture, she saw how the industry prioritized development over ecology — and how environmental policies often fell short of protecting the landscapes they were meant to serve.
In 2019, while conducting a tree survey on the last pocket of green in a sea of grey, she found bobcat tracks — one adult, one kitten — and wondered where they would go. That same year, a landmark study revealed that North America had lost nearly 3 billion birds in 50 years. She called her mom to talk through it. What are you going to do about it? She was designing a gas station at the time — and it became her first Pitstop for the Birds design.
Today, Sadie leads Pitstop for the Birds from Raleigh, NC, building a model that transforms EV charging infrastructure into habitat for migrating birds — and into places where people can reconnect with the natural world.
Our Team
Sophie Moeckel — Stewardship Curriculum Designer
Sophie Moeckel — Stewardship Curriculum Designer
Our Team
Sophie Moeckel — Stewardship Curriculum Designer Our Team Sophie is an environmental educator, traditional musician, farmer, and curriculum designer. She has directed and taught at farm- and music-based youth programs across Maine, Virginia, and North Carolina, founded her own farm camp and handmade arts business, and served as Director of Operations for a nonprofit music school serving over 1,000 students a year. She completed a Virginia Humanities folklore apprenticeship with Grammy-nominated musician and culture-bearer Alice Gerrard, deepening her approach to storytelling, intergenerational learning, and place-based education. Sophie believes people learn best through their hands, through wonder, and through deep relationship with land and community. That belief is woven into Pitstop's stewardship curriculum, where students explore migration, local ecology, and community interconnection through field observations, creative projects, and hands-on stewardship. Sophie's work is how we invite students, elders, and neighbors into the work of restoration in a meaningful, lasting way.
Guiding our mission with vision, rigor, and care
Board of Directors
Extending our reach across ecology, design, and policy
Board of Advisors
Isaiah Thalmayer — Senior Project Manager, Point Blue Conservation Science