Conservation Corps North Bay’s Environmental Stewardship Award, named for its first recipient, Pamela Wright Lloyd, is presented to a person or an organization that has demonstrated an exemplary commitment to environmental stewardship and works towards passing on knowledge, energy and promise to the next generation.
This year’s awardee is Sonoma Land Trust Executive Director Ralph Benson.
Ralph Benson has been the executive director of Sonoma Land Trust since 2003. Since he joined the Sonoma Land Trust, the organization has acquired more than 6,000 acres on the Bay and along Highway 37 where it is undertaking the massive Sears Point Restoration Project bringing back 1,000 acres of tidal wetlands and adding several miles to the Bay Trail.
Benson led the effort to build Sonoma Land Trust’s Baylands Center at Sears Point Ranch, which will serve as the center of environmental education activities in the region. On the coast, the Land Trust acquired the 5,630-acre Jenner Headlands, which was the largest conservation acquisition ever in Sonoma County.
The Land Trust has completed a two-year planning process and will be opening the property up to expanded public recreation in partnership with The Wildlands Conservancy, a leader in environmental education in Southern California.
The Environmental Stewardship ward will be presented at Conservation Corps North Bay’s 30th Anniversary Gala on Thursday, Oct. 11 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Marin County Mart in Larkspur. Organic food and wine from the Indian Valley Organic Farm & Garden and other local purveyors will be served. To purchase tickets, visit www.conservationcorpsnorthbay.org.
