Charlotte and Martin Sornborger at the May 21 Save The Bay annual meeting.
Charlotte Sornborger received Save The Bay’s 2014 Alison Walsh Award for Outstanding Environmental Advocacy. Charlotte has been an outstanding environmental advocate for many years, leading the Barrington Land Conservation Trust (BLCT) in its early years as president and continuing to play an active role as a board member today, 36 years later.
Her work has built the BLCT into a successful conservation organization, and her tireless advocacy for the environment and for conservation has left a permanent legacy of beautiful protected places in Barrington. She is a skilled, enthusiastic, and respected teacher, mentor, and scientist, a passionate conservationist with invaluable knowledge of local, state, and regional issues.
Although her work has been based in Barrington, the results of her efforts reach far beyond the town’s borders. In addition to her 25 years running the Nockum Hill Terrapin Population Study, Charlotte led land acquisition projects that have resulted in protection of land directly on Narragansett Bay’s shores, thus contributing to the health of the Bay ecosystem. Students that Charlotte has mentored, taught, and supervised have gone on to careers in conservation, having positive impacts beyond Rhode Island. Her achievements and her no nonsense approach to getting things done continue to inspire and motivate her co-workers at the Land Trust and elsewhere.
The Alison J. Walsh Award for Outstanding Environmental Advocacy is awarded annually to an individual who has displayed an extraordinary commitment to the environmental protection of Narragansett Bay and its watershed through advocacy, community leadership, and/or direct action. The winner receives a cash award of $1,000. Charlotte received the award May 21.