Gus Ben David is an Island institution. For 30 years he has directed Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary. Anyone walking the trails gets a sense of a wild place that is tended by loving hands. The open grassland is mowed at strategic times of year. Waterfowl find refuge in the small duck pond at the far end of the property.

The most remarkable aspect of the 350-acre Vineyard sanctuary is that it represents the evolution of a community effort. On Wednesday night, Mr. Ben David gave a slide show to a close group of friends and committee members at the sanctuary’s visitor center. The slide show was a celebration of the many people who have dedicated time and money to the center’s growth.

For Martha’s Vineyard, Felix Neck is unique among sanctuaries for its broad educational mission. And Felix Neck, according to Mr. Ben David, became the wonderful place it is through a remarkable transformation edged forward by the generosity of many people.

Mr. Ben David, 56, sat down with the Gazette before the slide show to reflect on the remarkable growth that has occurred since he started working for a small band of volunteers as director in 1969, at a salary of $7,500 per year.

When Felix Neck was created as a sanctuary, it had no Island moldels after which to pattern itself. In the 1600s, the land had belonged to an Indian named Felix Kuttashamaquat, and for hundreds of years the land was farmed. George Moffett Jr., a wealthy philanthropist, purchased the property from Walter Smith’s family in 1963 with the understanding it would be forever kept in conservation, protected from the surge of development already starting on the Island. “He didn’t exactly know at the time what was going to happen,” Mr. Ben David said, but the land was to be preserved and turned over to the Massachusetts Audubon Society.

“George Moffett was a great friend to the Vineyard. He was a photographer and an accomplished world-class yacht racer,” Mr. Ben David said. Mr. Moffett purchased the property for $106,000.

In a short time a group of Mr. Moffett’s energetic friends formed the Martha’s Vineyard Natural History Society to run programs on the property. The first president was the late Anne Hale, wife of Tom Hale of the Martha’s Vineyard Shipyard. With Mr. Moffett’s blessing, they began a program for children on the property called the Fern and Feather Natural History Day Camp.

“It is fascinating to me to see how it all progressed,” Mr. Ben David said; like the construction of a house, one plank attaches to another. By 1969, the programs at Felix Neck had so progressed that Mr. Ben David was approached to take over as director. His first day on the job was Sept. 2. Mr. Ben David was already well known in the community for his ability in raising wild animals, from snakes to birds, for educational purposes. “I had my first red-tailed hawk when I was nine years old and my first eagle when I was in high school,” Mr. Ben David recalled. “It was an African Tawny.”

When Mr. Ben David stepped in as director, the property was more like an old farm than any center for naturalists. There was a tired old 100-year-old house that belonged to Amos Smith. It was removed from the sanctuary, piece by piece, by Robert Woodruff, and it became his home in West Tisbury.

An old barn was converted to what today is the visitor center. Outbuildings from the farm were torn down and truckloads of debris were hauled away.

Together with the resources of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, the sanctuary became one of the leading wildlife centers in Southeastern Massachusetts.

Much of the vision goes back to Mr. Moffett, who died in 1978 at the age of 58. Mr. Ben David said: “George wanted a special sanctuary. George believed that basically, society has abused both wildlife and people, and he wanted to provide a sanctuary for both.”

Under Mr. Ben David’s leadership, the sanctuary remains a very public place. His staff and volunteers are encouraged to give a positive welcome to all visitors. There is no limit in praise and support at the sanctuary for the youngest of naturalists who come by. “I don’t want to get too philosophical, but we have a tendency to give praise only to those who have high academic and scholastic achievement. That is fine, but don’t forget the others who excel in other ways. Everyone has a different ability. We need to pay attention.”

At Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, the many young volunteers who help bring many different skills. Mr. Ben David maintains an effective approach: “To be an effective educator you have to be a kid yourself. When you teach kids you become a kid, you have to be a kid at heart to teach effectively.” Mr. Ben David estimates that thousands of youngsters have grown up in the Fern and Feather Day Camp program. As many as 20,000 people visit the sanctuary each year.

“I have a universal statement that is shared: We live by encouragement and die without it -- slowly, sadly and angrily.”

With more than a quarter century of celebrating the Vineyard’s wildlife, part of it comes from the animals themselves. Mr. Ben David has shared eagles with visitors to the sanctuary. He has a bald eagle named Wrangler and for many years had a great horned owl named Hoot. For 18 years he has had a golden eagle named Chameli. The list of other animals of interest includes Scuba Joe, a young otter; Fred, a blue jay, and an array of reptile friends, from Mr. Ben David’s Big Al, the snapping turtle, to his tropical snakes.

Felix Neck has been at the center of another remarkable Island story: the return of the osprey, a bird that was almost eliminated from the Vineyard for lack of appropriate nesting habitat. More than 100 osprey nets, tall utility poles with cross members on the top, have been placed across the Island to encourage their return. For six springs the sanctuary has hosted the Osprey Festival, a celebration of the bird’s annual return.

Looking to the future, Mr. Ben David wants to increase the Felix Neck endowment fund so that the sanctuary committee doesn’t have to focus so much time to raising funds. “Felix Neck needs a much larger endowment fund than it has. I want the fund to be big enough so it can run the place. Today there are so many organizations seeking funds in the community. I don’t want Felix Neck to compete for those funds.

“I hope that my successor won’t have to worry about fundraising as much as I have,” he said. “I want Edgartown and I want Martha’s Vineyard to be proud of Felix Neck.”

On Wednesday night, the audience applauded when Mr. Ben David finished his slide show. There was back slapping and high praise for his efforts. He finished the show saying: “This has been a marvelous affair, and it is not over yet.”