Bay Nature’s Local Hero Awards recognize three individuals in our community whose efforts foster understanding and preservation of the natural world of the San Francisco Bay Area. The 2018 awards will be presented at Bay Nature’s Local Hero Awards Dinner in San Francisco on Sunday, March 25, 2018. Dr. Lisa Micheli is our 2018 Local Hero for Environmental Education.
Dr. Lisa Micheli is the founding executive director of Pepperwood, a 3,200-acre sanctuary for hundreds of plant and animal species in the Mayacamas Mountains northeast of Santa Rosa. Originally trained in watershed science, Lisa has pioneered a program of long-term monitoring of ecosystem health at the preserve, coordinated a team to create climate modeling tools that can project impacts on Bay Area ecosystems, and engaged land and water managers throughout the Bay Area in discussions of climate adaptation strategies. Thanks to Lisa’s efforts, Pepperwood has been recognized by the National Science Foundation as a field station of global significance.
Lisa’s “awesome” (her words) education team has advanced the ecoliteracy of children of all ages and backgrounds: Under her leadership, thousands of young people have been connected to the rich biodiversity of Sonoma County through bilingual classes, summer camps, and internships at the preserve. Thousands more local residents have become “citizen scientists” by helping to monitor bird life, plants’ response to climate change, and animal distributions via emerging technologies like the Wildlife Picture Index and iNaturalist.
Although Lisa’s primary focus is Pepperwood, her work has generated notice and appreciation throughout Sonoma County and beyond. Lisa was recently elected a fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, and she was a leading contributor to the Sonoma County Climate Resilience Team, which was honored last fall by the White House Office of Science and Technology.
Read about our other 2018 Local Heroes:
Conservation Action
Walter T. Moore, President, Peninsula Open Space Trust
Youth Engagement
Sandra Corzantes, Outings Leader and Organizer
Join us in celebrating our three Local Heroes at Bay Nature’s 2018 Annual Awards Dinner on March 25, 2018, at the UCSF-Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco. The evening will include a reception, hors d’oeuvres, full bar, auction, and a full-course dinner.
For information on tickets, sponsorships and other marketing opportunities, please contact Laney Ennis at 510.528-8550 x103/laney@baynature.org