Monroe resident Mary Britton-Simmons was honored Thursday as the Kirkland-based Eastside Audubon Society’s 2011 Environmentalist of the Year for her work to instill a lifetime commitment to conservation in children.
A former teacher and department head who retired from Woodinville High, Britton-Simmons was chair of the Eastside Audubon Education Committee for nine years and during that time led the creation of classroom and community programs that have engaged many hundreds of young people in conservation.
In 2011 alone, approximately 1,000 children and 500 adults participated in a youth education event organized under Britton-Simmons’s leadership.
She developed a series of classroom presentations that meet the Essential Academic Learning Requirements of the State of Washington and produced the Bird Discovery Box, a treasure chest of resources educators can borrow from Eastside Audubon to teach about birds.
“I want kids to form a relationship with nature at an early age so they will be lifelong lovers of birds and nature and then be their stewards when they grow up,” she said.
She organized Eastside Audubon’s program of grants to teachers for reusable classroom materials and an annual scholarship for a high school senior planning to pursue studies in the environment or natural sciences.
She also oversaw the establishment of a nature camp scholarship program for middle school students.
Britton-Simmons completed her final term on the Eastside Audubon board in December.
With its Environmentalist of the Year Award, the Conservation Committee of Eastside Audubon each year recognizes a community member or organization for sustained effort on a conservation project, educational program, scientific study, or written work that has had an observable impact.
Past recipients have included Martyn Stewart, a Redmond-based sound recordist whose work helped locate injured birds following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (2010); the five founding members of the Environmental and Adventure School at Finn Hill (2009); and John Schmied and Marie Hartford, leaders on the Brightwater Teachers’ Task Force (2008).
Britton-Simmons received the award at a dinner Thursday honoring more than 130 Eastside Audubon volunteers who worked during 2011 on conservation, education, and community outreach projects.
About Eastside Audubon
Eastside Audubon is the National Audubon Society chapter active in Bellevue, Bothell, Carnation, Duvall, Issaquah, Kirkland, North Bend, Redmond, Sammamish, Snoqualmie, Woodinville, and unincorporated East King County.
Eastside Audubon works to protect, preserve, and enhance natural ecosystems and our communities for the benefit of birds, other wildlife, and people. We welcome new and experienced birders on our birding walks and field trips and in our birding classes.
