With warm weather, good company, and delicious food, our annual picnic was a big success. Held at the Rose Garden Picnic Shelter in Squaxin Park, there were about 50 attendees. Deb Nickerson and her committee had everything well organized including a swap table, bird bingo, and homemade desserts.
At the event, we honored three outstanding individuals for their efforts in conservation.
The Conservation Committee chose Charlotte Persons to receive the Jack Davis Conservationist of the Year 2025. Charlotte has served on both statewide and chapter Audubon conservation committees. She led the effort on behalf of Audubon to oppose proposed changes in the state Wildland-Urban Interface Code that recommended extensive cutting of residential trees without sufficiently promoting fire-resistant building materials or accounting for the differing likelihood of fire in different regions of the state. Legislation has now been passed in opposition to these drastic building codes.
Charlotte helped lead the SSBA Conservation Committee’s effort to update the Thurston County Comprehensive Plan to meet greenhouse gas goals and protect wildlife from human development. She represents SSBA on the Local Good Governance Coalition and has advocated for improvements in the Bush Prairie Habitat Conservation Plan in the Tumwater area, with emphasis on the Mazama Pocket Gopher, Oregon Spotted Frog, and Streaked Horned Lark. We thank Charlotte for her long-standing efforts toward wildlife conservation.
The Education Committee honored Anthony Terzoli with the 2025 Dave McNett Environmental Educator of the Year Award. Anthony is the Education Coordinator for the Puget Sound Estuarium. In their dual role as administrator and teacher, Anthony divides time between coordinating field trips with local teachers, schools, and other organizations, preparing educational materials, and leading students through hands-on experiences about estuaries. Each year Anthony participates in the South Sound Green Student Congress, the South Sound GREEN Nearshore Program, as well as at the Expanding Your Horizons Program (which targets teens from under-represented groups).
Anthony oversees the Estuarium’s three 5-day-long summer camp programs, each targeted to a different age group. They also manage the “Meet the Beach” Program, a volunteer-staffed opportunity which spans 23 days to teach beachgoers at local parks about the shore. To quote Hal Clemins, the Estuarium’s Executive Director, “What truly sets them apart is their ability to connect with students of all ages and backgrounds, creating meaningful learning experiences that resonate long after the program ends… Every young person has an educator like Anthony, whom they will remember for a lifetime due to a remarkable and positive experience.”
Kathy Prosser was chosen as our 2025 SSBA Volunteer of the Year. Kathy became our corresponding secretary in 2021. This position is responsible for acknowledging all of our incoming donations. During December and January, after our annual appeal letter goes out, this becomes a major job. She works with our Membership Chair, our Treasurer, and our website designer to acknowledge each and every donor in a timely and gracious manner.
In addition to this leadership role, Kathy plays a major role on the Annual Dinner Committee and the Annual Picnic Committee, handling everything that is asked of her. Kathy is also the lead on our bluebird box project at Violet Prairie. She and two other volunteers visit the prairie on a rotating schedule to check on the nesting success of the bluebirds and swallows there. She compiles the weekly data into a final report. What’s even more impressive are Kathy’s mapping GIS skills. This was something Kathy used during her career and has proved invaluable to the nest box project. So far, she has mapped Violet, Glacial Heritage, Wolf Haven, Tenalquot, Chehalis Western Trail and Deschutes prairies. Our Audubon chapter is more effective, more efficient, and more wide-ranging because of Kathy’s involvement.
–By Kathleen Snyder, Sam Merrill, and Kim Adelson.
Photo credit: Kathy Prosser, Anthony Terzoli, and Charlotte Persons, by Rachel Hudson.
