So tomorrow will be the ceremony for the John Muir Association Conservation Award. It will take place downtown, at the Campbell Theatre and be hosted by Lee Stetson, the actor who played the affirming voice of John Muir in the Ken Burns documentary series. Awards will be presented for best organizational contribution (East Bay Regional Parks) best education contribution (David Loeb, publisher of Bay Nature), best business contribution (T. Marzetti Co in Ohio) and best individual contribution (Jeff Alvarez of the Wildlife Project).
Regular readers of this blog will recognize Jeff’s name as the biologist who had volunteered to help us with our interpretive signs grant way back when. Jeff has been an enthusiastic supporter for beavers and Worth A Dam, and will be joining our meeting this weekend to talk about upcoming projects. We couldn’t be happier for him or more excited about our work together. Here’s the press release regarding his much-deserved win:
Named Conservationist of the Year, Jeff Alvarez will be recognized for his lifelong advocacy for wildlife and habitat conservation. Alvarez is the owner and Chief Biologist for The Wildlife Project. His prodigious volunteer work on behalf of wildlife and the environment goes well beyond his business interests. As a volunteer, he has trained professional peers in federal permitting issues for special-status species in order to increase the number of qualified biologists able to work towards the conservation of threatened and endangered species in California . He has lent his expertise, as a volunteer, to assist the Agricultural and Natural Resource Land Trust of Contra Costa County, the Biological Field Studies Association, the Mt. View Sanitation District, and many others. He has created and published techniques for surveying wildlife that minimize impacts on the wildlife. His articles on special-status species have been published in scientific journals, and he shares his expertise by providing gratis presentations on natural history and wildlife management to public agencies and nonprofit organizations. Alvarez is currently fulfilling a ten-year volunteer commitment to assist CASA Avian Support Alliance in Belize with the assessment of reforestation and avian populations. He also assists with wildlife rehabilitation and environmental education, including The Resources of Belize Coloring and Activity Book to be distributed to children in Belize . Alvarez is one of those individuals whose wide-ranging enthusiasm on behalf of wildlife and the environment influences others to care about the natural world around them.
Alright, an award ceremony, a Worth A Dam meeting with brilliant new minds, aren’t you doing anything else this weekend, you lazy beaver advocates? How about a display at the Trail Adventure to benefit Save Mt. Diablo at Castle Rock park in Walnut Creek? Well, okay. We’ll be at the expo from 9-12 where you can learn all about the various advocacy groups in the Bay Area.
The Save Mount Diablo Trail Adventure presented by Chevron offers a Half-Marathon, 10K Run, and Family Hike beginning at Castle Rock Park in Walnut Creek, climbing the fire roads up the slopes of Mount Diablo and finishing at Castle Rock. The event includes post race entertainment by a live band, expo and lunch for all participants.
Save Mt. Diablo is the big leagues in non-profit baseball. It takes big money to save a mountain, especially when you are saving it from being sold for even bigger money. They invited us after seeing how enormously popular our site was at the Flyway Fiesta event. We will be there to talk beavers, make friends and find out some excellent ideas for next years beaver festival! Stop by and say hi!
