Special Recognition

Environmental Awards 2024

Fostering Love of the Land for Children and Youth

2024 is the 40th year that the Sonoma County Conservation Council has been recognizing local environmental leaders! Given that the generation that began this mission of protecting our beautiful region from rampant development is aging out and passing on, we feel that the work being done to “foster a love of the land” for children and youth is essential to carrying on this legacy of protection and stewardship.

SCCC is honoring four programs and their leaders who are continuing this important mission, as well as two other individuals for their long-time work behind the scenes protecting the environment in Sonoma County.

Ernestine I. Smith Environmentalists of the Year

Craig Anderson & Lee Hackeling, Co-directors of LandPaths, for their Rooting Youth in Nature initiative.

Christine Fontaine, Education Director, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, for the Learning Laguna and Camp Tule programs.

Craig Anderson and Lee Hackeling are the founders and heart and soul of LandPaths, a Sonoma County nonprofit founded in 1996 with a mission to “foster a love of the land.” LandPaths conducts vibrant environmental education programming focusing on youth and historically underserved communities. Rooting Youth in Nature is one of three core initiatives that their work focuses on. With vision, commitment and amazing effectiveness, and by recognizing years ago the importance of bringing diversity into the environmental arena, Craig and Lee have grown LandPaths into a significant force for environmental protection in the county.

LandPaths is one of the original providers that helped form our Program awardee, the Sonoma Environmental Education Collaborative, back in 2008. They are also one of the participating organizations in the Pathways Project and helped bring funding to the Project.

Christine Fontaine has served as Education Director of the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation for nearly 18 years. Christine is an inspirational, creative and passionate environmental educator who advanced the Learning Laguna Program and developed Camp Tule programs which have inspired thousands of children about the wonders of the Laguna watershed. She has grown Learning Laguna, an environmental and wetland science education program for 2nd-4th grade students; it has served approximately 23,000 children to date. Christine also created Camp Tule in 2018, a summer day-camp that now also serves as a career pathway program for high school and college students seeking hands-on opportunities to learn teaching skills and build their own leadership competencies serving as camp counselors and naturalists. .She has trained hundreds of people to serve as volunteer environmental teachers and guides. Her leadership and creative planning ensures that the Laguna Foundation’s Community Education programs engage and inspire people of all ages to value the Laguna de Santa Rosa ecosystems.

Lifetime Environmental Achievement Award

Ernie Carpenter was a Sonoma County Supervisor for 16 years, from 1981-1997. Ernie has been and continues to be a powerful force for the environment. Over the past 40 years, he has worked with the California Coastal Conservancy, was a was a founding board member of LandPaths and Neighbors to Preserve Rural Sonoma County as well as several land conservation and oak woodland conservation groups. He advocated for the Agricultural and Open Space District to protect large swaths of land in western Sonoma County. He has been an outspoken and passionate advocate for the environment and a mentor to many young people entering politics and environmental and social justice advocacy work.

 

Outstanding Environmental Program

The Sonoma Environmental Education Collaborative is a network of dozens of organizations which work with youth. They identify grade level gaps, environmental education gaps, and land connection gaps all around the county. The Environmental Education Pathways Project, an initiative of SEEC’s, aims to fill those gaps, increase access to nature, and provide hands-on outdoor learning. With a focus on Title 1 elementary schools, the Pathways Project works to make sure that every student at every grade level has a touchpoint of environmental education. Over 10 environmental education providers, all members of SEEC, collaborate with 32 schools to create “pathways” to reflect the school’s culture and assets, and scaffold student learning to intentionally re-enforce and build greater student understanding.

 

Special Recognition

John Fairbank is a dedicated volunteer who for years has spent hundreds of hours caring for the land. He is particularly passionate about removing invasive species so that native biodiversity can thrive in Sonoma County.  Not only does he attend volunteer workdays at multiple organizations, but he also goes out on his own time to a number of preserves and Sonoma County Regional Parks throughout the county to remove invasive species, protect watersheds by monitoring drainage and erosion during storms, and conducting forestry work. In addition, John is a wildlife docent at Ragle Park and is becoming a docent at Armstrong Woods.

Environmental Awards 2024 Read More »

Environmental Awards 2023

Watch the video of the 2023 SCCC awards ceremony honoring Sonoma County environmentalists.

Environmentalists of the Year 2023

Sustainable Development Advocacy

Kathy Pons & Sonia Taylor

Kathy Pons (Glen Ellen) is a founder and current president of the Valley of the Moon Alliance (VOTMA), a group that advocates for wise stewardship of the natural resources and sustainable growth in the Valley of the Moon corridor, and provides oversight of major development projects, water issues, and winery/event venue density.

Kathy was involved in forming the Sonoma Valley Groundwater Management Plan before the state mandate of GSAs, measuring water levels in volunteer wells to collect data about local groundwater levels. She focuses on the community impacts from development of traffic along Highway 12 through Sonoma Valley as well as planning for wildfire evacuation plans. Kathy’s long term and continued commitment to preserving and protecting the Valley of the Moon from on-going development pressures has led to tangible results in achieving these goals. Kathy and her allies will continue to express the concerns of the community with projects such as Kenwood Ranch, Sonoma Developmental Center, Hanna Housing Project and the Elnoka development.

Sonia Taylor (Santa Rosa), environmental, affordable housing and sustainable development advocate, will be recognized for her activism on many fronts. An indefatigable researcher with an insider’s knowledge of how government operates, Sonia works behind the scenes in the permit and planning process and has been involved with crafting policy positions on – among others – the Santa Rosa General Plan, Chanate Road development, and fire safety. Her graphic design skills have benefited many progressive campaigns. Sonia’s defense of CEQA, insistence on government transparency and enforcement of environmental protections have enlightened the public as well as decision makers.

Lifetime Environmental Achievement Award

Margaret Briare (Bodega Bay): According to her colleagues at Bodega Bay Concerned Citizens, Margaret Briare has been an unsung heroine of the Bodega Bay environment for more than 30 years. Her many accomplishments include helping protect a heron rookery on Bay Flat Rd from destruction, mapping wetlands, resolving code violations by the Harbor View development, and pressuring legal council for the California Coastal Commission Counsel to address violations of Coastal Act regulations. “Saving the Sonoma Coast (especially Bodega Bay) has been a longtime goal of mine since spending time here as a child when the bay was being dredged and the marina was being built.”

Norman Gilroy (Glen Ellen) is a tireless champion of the environment. “Retired” to the Sonoma Valley after 30 years with The Institute for the Human Environment, where he worked on environmental problem solving internationally, he has defeated proposals for a huge Amazon warehouse and a LPG tanker storage yard.

At the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), he served on the local Policy Committee and on CAFF’s statewide Board. He helped implement new earthquake-compliant facilities for Sonoma Valley Hospital, served for nine years on the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission, and now serves on the Advisory Committee for the Sonoma Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA). His current passion is saving the land and resources at the former Sonoma Developmental Center from over-development.

After decades of experience as an architect and planner, leading projects from design to completion, Norman has a brilliant capacity for synthesis of concepts and finding breakthrough solutions to complex issues. He is a team player who can gracefully bring people together by focusing on common goals and long-term impacts.

Youth Environmental Award

Galen Freed-Wilhelm: According to Tony Passantino of the Sonoma Ecology Center, Galen Freed-Wilhelm, is “An exceptional young individual whose unwavering dedication to environmental conservation, profound passion for reptiles, and remarkable accomplishments within our community warrant the highest recognition.”

Galen’s fascination with the natural world and his special interest in reptiles, set him apart as a contributor to understanding local biodiversity. He has documented an impressive 1,145 individual species on the Sonoma Developmental Center property, and he conducts regular naturalist walks at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, captivating audiences of all ages with his expertise and infectious passion. Demonstrating his commitment to the safety of both humans and animals, Galen relocates rattlesnakes from the Sugarloaf Ridge State Park campground to safer habitats.

In his own words, Galen says, “I have loved exploring and learning about nature since the time I could walk. I really like teaching people about animals and their behaviors, especially helping them overcome their fears.”

Special Recognition

Tom Devlin (Petaluma) received a Special Recognition Award for his long-time and dedicated work helping to keep the Sonoma County Environmental Center running efficiently and open for use by member groups and visitors.

Environmental Awards 2023 Read More »

Environmental Awards 2020

The 2020 Sonoma County Environmental Awards were presented at the SCCC & Sierra Club Sonoma Group’s
Holiday Networking and Environmental Awards Event

December 4, 2020

&nbsp:

Inspiring Youth Awards

Jamie Nakama, the Youth Program Manager at Landpaths, excels at environmental education and bringing children out into nature. Even in the midst of a pandemic she organized a safe summer camp for kids and created multi-media zoom lessons for teachers and parents. Jamie is committed to justice and equity and is training and mentoring the most diverse team of environmental educators in the county.

 

Janina Turner, Energy Program Coordinator, The Climate Center. Janina tackles the climate crisis from every angle: education, policy and protest. Her work has focused on expanding Community Choice Energy within California as well as organizing with the Sunrise Movement in Sonoma County, a youth-led movement to stop the climate crisis while creating millions of good jobs. She inspires those around her to fight for what’s right from climate to racial justice.

Local Produce Rescue

While best known as a top local chef, Duskie Estes has been a committed and dynamic sustainability advocate for many years, while supporting local food and small farmers. Recently she has focused on the issue of food waste through her work as the Executive Director of Farm to Pantry, connecting the dots between food waste as one of the top drivers of climate change, and the urgent need for food for families in our community.

2020 Ernestine I. Smith “Environmentalists of the Year” Forest Champions

2020 has been Northern California’s fourth consecutive year of major wildfires, one of the many serious consequences of climate change. As our forests transition to adapt to climate change, people must adapt as well. While continuing to protect the traditional roles of forest as wildlife habitat and an essential element of watersheds, we must re-think our relationships with fire and the landscape to safely adapt human communities to wildfire while maximizing carbon storage in forests and other ecosystems.

We would like to honor three leaders who are addressing these issues:

Rick Coates, Director of Forest Unlimited, has worked on forest protection for decades, collaborating, organization-building, educating, and planting trees. Under his watch, Forest Unlimited has marshalled volunteers to plant over 33,000 redwoods and oaks, form watershed groups, and oppose local logging of old growth and other irreplaceable forest areas.

Chris Poehlmann, in his 15 years volunteering (7 as President) with Friends of the Gualala River, led successful movements to stop several major logging, vineyard and development projects in north-west Sonoma County. Chris was instrumental in pulling together legal action, fundraising, protests, publicity, and collaboration with other environmental groups to stop these projects, which would have hugely impacted the forests and watersheds in the north-west county.

Maya Khosla is a Wildlife Biologist, Film Maker and Writer. Her background and interests converged following the 2007 fires to make her an unparalleled communicator about fire and forest ecosystems. Her films, Searching for the Gold Spot, and Firewise: The Scientists Speak, raise urgent questions about the current approaches to fire safety in the Wildland-Urban Interface and the demand for forest ‘thinning’ by timber and biomass industries.

Environmental Awards 2020 Read More »

Environmental Awards 2014

Sonoma County Environmentalist of the Year

Stephen Fuller-Rowell

Lifetime Environmental Achievement

Anne Teller and family (Oak Hill Farm)

Outstanding Educators, Projects and Programs Award

STRAW: Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed

Special Recognition

Wendy Krupnick, Queen Bee!

Environmental Awards 2014 Read More »

Environmental Awards 2012

Sonoma County Environmentalist of the Year

Steve Birdlebough

Special Recognition

Duane DeWitt, Outstanding Grassroots Environmentalist

Lifetime Environmental Achievement

Roger Raiche

Outstanding Educators, Projects and Programs Award

Nichole Warwick (Sebastopol Schools)

Environmental Awards 2012 Read More »

Environmental Awards 2008

Sonoma County Environmentalist of the Year

Daisy Pistey-Lyhne

Special Recognition

Iva Warner

Lifetime Environmental Achievement

Brenda Adelman

Outstanding Educators, Projects and Programs Award

Maitreyi Siriguri
Cool Schools Program, Climate Protection Campaign

Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy
Leadership Training for a Sustainable Future and Sonoma Academy Youth Program

Environmental Awards 2008 Read More »

Environmental Awards 2007

Sonoma County Environmentalist of the Year

Anne Hudgins and Suzanne Doyle

Special Recognition

City of Sebastopol Sustainability Program

Lifetime Environmental Achievement

Bernie Album

Outstanding Educators, Projects and Programs Award

Michael Teller

Land Paths
In Our Own Backyard and Adventures in the Big Outdoors

Sonoma County Conservation Action

Environmental Awards 2007 Read More »