Celebrating Our Annual Meeting With Awards, Stream Critters, and More

Volume 28 Issue 3, Summer 2023

by Kim Strader, Volunteer Coordinator

Annual meetings offer a great opportunity to celebrate Loudoun Wildlife’s volunteers and accomplishments. This year was no exception with nearly 100 people in attendance on June 4 at Ida Lee Park. We kicked off the event with a social half-hour when people got the opportunity to ask questions about our latest advocacy campaigns, hear about projects at JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary, learn about Loudoun County Public Schools Regional Science Fair winners’ projects, and see live benthic macroinvertebrate “stream critters.”

The business portion of the meeting included approving meeting notes, reviewing the state of the organization in 2022, and hearing the treasurer’s report. Additionally, new Board members were elected, so we welcomed Bruce Kimmel, Peter Lyttle, Mike Scott, and Amy Ulland.

Amy, who also coordinates Loudoun Wildlife’s stream monitoring activities, delivered the meeting’s keynote. In a talk entitled “From Data to Action: How Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy’s Stream Team is Making a Difference,” Amy spoke about the Secure Clean Drinking Water for Lucketts Project, the Salt Watch Program, and stream monitoring. Her presentation also included a hands-on exercise on identifying benthic macroinvertebrates.

An important part of every Annual Meeting is the presentation of awards, including the Roger Tory Peterson Young Naturalist Awards. This year we recognized ten Loudoun County students for their excellent nature journals, created through an integrated K-12 classroom program inspired by Peterson, the world-renowned field guide author and illustrator.

Additionally this year, participating teachers received enhanced “Peterson Packs,” thanks to additional grant funding to give teachers more supplies and materials to develop their students’ knowledge about nature. Participating teachers received over $1,000 worth of field guides, binoculars, compasses, magnifying glasses, blank journals, and other supplies to use in their classrooms.

Of course, we always set aside time during the Annual Meeting to acknowledge our volunteers, the lifeblood of Loudoun Wildlife and the seeds to our success. This year’s Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy Volunteer Award recipients are:

Volunteer of the Year: Cathy Lemmon

This award recognizes someone who is not a board member or program coordinator and actively participates in multiple Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy programs. Cathy Lemmon has logged 453 hours since she began volunteering in 2020. She is the trail leader on two Bluebird Monitoring Trails (Morven Park and River Creek), an Audubon at Home Ambassador, and a Dulles Greenway Eagle Cam volunteer. Throughout the first year of the Eagle Cam Program, Cathy was instrumental in organizing and developing processes. Going into our second season with the Eagle Cam, she assisted with writing the Eagle Cam Volunteer Handbook, advised on procedures to implement, and organized the Eagle Cam Slack channels. Cathy is a pleasure to work with and is always exploring ways to streamline things to make it easier for her fellow volunteers.

The Joe Coleman Award: Amy Ulland

The Joe Coleman Award is presented to a board member or program coordinator for their exemplary contributions and achievements. Amy Ulland, our Stream Monitoring Program coordinator, is a tireless advocate for water quality and the health of our streams. This is reflected in her many hours of volunteer work, her excellent organizational skills, and her efforts to involve a variety of people to participate in our stream monitoring projects.

Amy also understands how stream monitoring data can be used as an effective tool for change. In 2022 she administered and conducted a $41,432 grant from the Tides Foundation’s Google Data Center Grants Fund to “Secure Clean Drinking Water for Lucketts. ” This involved the collection and analysis of over 250 samples of stream and wastewater treatment facility effluent for E. coli levels — resulting in the EPA mandate for construction of a new wastewater treatment facility next to JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary. Additionally, she organized and presented an educational town hall meeting about water quality for Lucketts area residents. The project also included drinking water testing for 23 families, and provided 17 families from two underserved communities in Lucketts with high-quality drinking water filters to defray the cost of buying bottled water for drinking and cooking.

Outstanding Leader Award: Julie Borneman

The Outstanding Leader Award helps Loudoun Wildlife recognize someone who is truly special and has given a countless amount of their time and effort to help our organization. This award has only been given once before, to Ann Garvey. This year we decided to recognize another outstanding leader, Julie Borneman.

Julie’s accomplishments and activities are numerous. In addition to being our past board president, she has been a vital contributor to almost every one of our projects and programs. We are thankful for all the time, energy, and donations she has made to the organization over the years. Native plant education, plant sale donations, fundraising (including the annual Birdhouses of Loudoun auction), administrative duties, program implementation … the list of Julie’s contributions goes on. We can think of no one more deserving of this award than Julie.

Congratulations to all the award winners, and to all our volunteers for your dedication to Loudoun Wildlife and to creating a place where people and wildlife thrive together.