Maurice

Maurice A. Cullen has spent a lifetime as a local naturalist. Starting with a childhood interest in reptiles and insects, he still displays lizards and snakes as classroom pets and maintains one of the largest private collections of insects in Tidewater. In warmer months there is a focus on raising many different species of butterfly and moth caterpillars, along with presenting several “Moth Nights.” During the Summer, he works for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation as a mentor for the Teacher Environmental Literacy Learner program. He has a keen interest in biodiversity and maintains the pollinator/butterfly garden at Virginia Beach Middle School.

Maurice has been recognized twice as a VBCPS Teacher of the Year, received the Garden Club of America Elizabeth Abernathy Hull Award for environmental education, and most recently, the 2024 Mary Reid Barrow Wildlife Advocate Award.  He currently teaches life science at Princess Anne Middle School and is the Vice President of the Butterfly Society of Virginia. Maurice resides in Virginia Beach, with his wife Kay.