RE Sources Names Local Environmental Heroes

For the eighth year, local environmental education and advocacy organization RE Sources for Sustainable Communities names its 2010 Environmental Heroes. The event honors individuals who are dedicated protecting the environment. Heroes are nominated through an open community nomination process and selected by a group that includes prior heroes and members of RE Sources’ board and staff.

The 2010 Heroes will be honored at the Environmental Heroes Award Celebration on Friday, April 23 at 5:30 p.m. at the Bellwether Ballroom. Tickets are $50 per person and include dinner.

The event is also a fundraiser for RE Sources’ environmental outreach programs. Primary sponsors for the 2010 Environmental Heroes event are Kulshan Cycles, People’s Bank, 2020 Engineering and Village Books. Other sponsors include The Community Food Co-op, New Whatcom Interiors, The Markets at Fairhaven and Birch Bay and Whatcom Educational Credit Union.

The event will also feature a keynote address titled, “From Conflict to Collaboration—Change in the New Decade and Beyond,” by Todd Paglia, Executive Director of ForestEthics. Under Mr. Paglia’s leadership, ForestEthics has secured the protection of more than 65 million acres (25 million hectares) of Endangered Forests and has transformed the paper use policies of multibillion-dollar Fortune 500 companies.

For more information about this wonderful community event or to reserve seats, visit www.re-sources.org or contact Megan Artz at RE Sources at (360) 733-8307 or MeganA@re-sources.org.

Jim Hansen will be honored for his work to preserve and restore the habitats supporting the recovery of wild salmon stocks of Whatcom County. For the past 20 years, Jim has worked with federal, state and tribal governments, private funders and property owners to restore processes that create and maintain critical salmon habitat in the Nooksack River Basin.

Under his leadership, more than 60,000 feet of in-stream habitat has been restored, more than 4,500 acres of wetland, riparian, and upland habitat have been improved, and 165 miles of forest road has been treated to reduce sediment runoff.

As a member of the Board of Directors with the Nooksack Recovery Team, Jim has been instrumental in supporting other local agencies that cumulatively have completed more than 500 successful salmon habitat restoration, protection and assessment projects. Jim has been a tireless advocate for protecting and restoring our local watersheds.

Sally Hewitt acted as volunteer editor of Whatcom County’s only nonprofit monthly newspaper, “Whatcom Watch,” For nine years. Sally solicited and reviewed articles from hundreds of community members, tracked local environmental and social events and orchestrated the publishing process. Through her leadership, Whatcom Watch has provided meaningful, informative and accurate articles from many viewpoints.

The publication raises community awareness about important environmental issues, encourages dialogue and government/community relations, and promotes understanding of environmental laws. Sally performed one of those thankless, behind-the-scene jobs, but her talent and dedication was stamped on every issue.

David Ostlund, Kelli Finet and Jenessa Moore will be applauded for their outstanding work with the Nooksack Valley High School Environmentally Friendly Club.

David is an 11th grade English teacher who devotes his free time to advise the club and empower students to incorporate sustainable practices within the school.

Kelli and Jenessa are in the junior class and have demonstrated amazing dedication and perseverance toward the club’s goal to increase the school’s environmentally sustainable practices.

They have worked with school staff to introduce food composting in the cafeteria and energy usage reductions on campus that will reduce 38,881 pounds of carbon dioxide from the school’s carbon footprint each year. With David’s continued guidance and dedication, Kelli and Jenessa will continue to shine as young leaders in Whatcom County’s environmental movement.

Laurie Caskey-Schreiber served on the Whatcom County Council for eight years between 2002 and 2010, as well as on the board of the Northwest Clean Air Agency, the Opportunity Council and the Whatcom County Marine Resources Committee.

Laurie has been a strong advocate for strengthening Whatcom County’s Park system and served as an active leader to add an additional 800 acres of land as parks. She was an advocate for protecting our fresh water lakes and shorelines by strengthening land use regulations and crafted the resolution to have Whatcom County government purchase 100 percent renewable energy.

She is very passionate about protecting our county’s rich farmland and consistently advocated for the establishment of the County’s Purchase of Development Rights program, which has put almost 700 acres of land that was zoned for development back into farmland status for perpetuity. Laurie has been a champion for the environment in our county, recognizing that this is key to our own well-being and that of future generations.

Dan Warner will be recognized for his devotion to preserving Whatcom County as an environmentally intact region through his efforts with groups such as Pro-Whatcom, Futurewise Whatcom and Western Washington University’s Office of Sustainability.

Dan has served as the eternal optimist on the Futurewise Whatcom steering committee, finding common ground among disparate perspectives on how to best manage growth in Whatcom County. By volunteering his time for anything between fundraising and establishing operating rules to helping other anti-sprawl groups hand out fliers, he’s shown that no task is to big or too small for the cause.

As a professor of Western Washington University, Dan has published a steady stream of journal articles regarding sustainability, particularly as affecting and affected by land use.

Sid Hammond will be honored posthumously. His family will receive the “Legacy Award” on his behalf for his contributions at the Gordon L. Carter Environmental Education Site for the Bellingham School District.

Sid worked collaboratively with staff and volunteers to create an outdoor learning environment and related curriculums. Third grade students step back in time to learn about pioneer life in the 1880s. Students cook over an open fire, make candles, and even pan for gold in the same manner as early settlers. Older students experience a variety of field-based environmental science activities. They are given the opportunity to explore many ecosystems on the site while getting a one-of-a-kind outdoor education.

Since inception, the Gordon L. Carter Environmental Education Site programs have hosted tens of thousands of students. While remembering the original vision and successful development of the site, its future needs to be addressed. As of this school year, it is the responsibility of the community to keep the site active through private funding. There has been a groundswell of support, and more is needed to secure a long-term solution to continue programs provided by the Gordon L. Carter Environmental Education Site.

While Sid had a love and respect for nature and a great desire to instill that care with future generations, we honor Sid Hammond’s dreams and achievements to encourage the great outdoors as the ultimate classroom for all children. §