In his role as an environmental educator, Willow has been leading city nature tours since 1999. the
New York Botanical Garden, and for
Wave Hill. The New York Times explained, "He gave nature tours for the Audubon Society and illustrated seed catalogs; he helped create a groundbreaking citizen science app called The WildLab; nights he worked as a D.J." In July 2011, one of Willow's tours of the
East River was described by him as the "Brothers Grimm of bird tours", during which "...we'll see herons and egrets returning to roost on abandoned islands". The Times reporter commented about Willow, "In addition to his knowledge of the peregrine falcon’s nesting habits, he has an unusual penchant for limning the history of the rocks and ruins where the birds come to roost. The story of the East River, I soon learn, is one of abandoned
quarantine hospitals and fiery
shipwrecks, of exploding islands and dirty, dirty water." On that particular tour, the birds sighted included
yellow warbler,
spotted sandpiper,
barn swallows, and
great egret. ==Environmentalism==