Honoree Receives Audubon/Toyota TogetherGreen Fellowship
New York, NY:—A Woolwich, Maine woman is the recipient of a new national fellowship designed to advance the work of individuals with outstanding potential to help shape a brighter environmental future.
Barbara Charry, a biologist with Maine Audubon since 1992, is one of only 40 people selected from competitors nationwide for the TogetherGreen Conservation Leadership Program, part of a new conservation initiative of the National Audubon Society with support from Toyota. Fellows receive specialized training in conservation planning and execution, the chance to work and share best practices with gifted conservation professionals, and assistance with project outreach and evaluation. Each Fellow will also receive $10,000 towards a community-focused project to engage local residents in conserving land, water and energy, and contributing to greater environmental health.
For her fellowship, Charry will focus her efforts on reducing the negative impacts of roads on wildlife and habitat by increasing public support for transportation planning and infrastructure. The need for good road ecology in protecting wildlife is critical, particularly as animals will have to adapt to changing habitats caused by climate change. The overall goal is to decrease threats to Maine’s rare and more common species by continuing to allow wildlife movement across the landscape, including creatures like fishers, bobcats and the endangered Blanding’s turtle (predicted to be extinct in 50-100 years if road mortality is not reduced).
The biologist and GIS manager has been involved in conservation efforts for over a decade. Charry is a founding partner of Maine’s nationally acclaimed Beginning With Habitat program, which has worked with over 250 towns and land trusts in Maine to-date. She also created some of the first Beginning With Habitat maps for towns, allowing communities to incorporate habitat conservation into land use planning more easily. With a long history in making nature come alive through her work as a park naturalist in Florida and Vermont, Charry is also well-prepared to explain the importance of protecting Maine wildlife to concerned residents and volunteers.
“Barbara is the kind of person who can make a real difference in the health of our environment and the quality of our future,” said Audubon President John Flicker. “Each of our TogetherGreen Fellows demonstrates exceptional environmental understanding and commitment, combined with tremendous potential to inspire and lead others. Together, they represent the talented and diverse leadership the environmental community will need to tackle the huge challenges and opportunities confronting us now and in the years to come.”
“TogetherGreen is an incredible opportunity to develop professional skills and enhance my ability to connect with Maine people concerned about the future of Maine’s wildlife,” said Charry. “It is essential that we have public support for practical solutions that can be applied when we work together to plan for wildlife, transportation, and land use.”
Half of the TogetherGreen fellows come from within Audubon’s far-reaching national network; half channel their environmental efforts through other organizations.
Charry received a Masters degree in environmental studies from Antioch New England Graduate School and a Bachelors degree in English from Grinnell College. She has published four articles about the importance of conserving Maine’s wildlife in the face of the developing landscape. Before working for Maine Audubon, Charry worked for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the Audubon Society of New Hampshire.
“Toyota believes in the power of grassroots efforts to develop the environmental leaders of tomorrow,” said Patricia Salas Pineda, Group Vice President, Toyota Motor North America. “These 40 TogetherGreen Fellows will receive invaluable training for the future while immediately making a difference today with on-the-ground community projects.”
A complete list of TogetherGreen fellows can be found online at www.TogetherGreen.org/fellows.
Audubon and Toyota launched the five-year TogetherGreen initiative in spring, 2008 to fund conservation projects, train environmental leaders, and offer volunteer and individual action opportunities that significantly benefit the environment. As of October, volunteer days have begun in 40, tallying in excess of 11,000 volunteer hours. Funding totaling $1.4 million was recently awarded to innovative conservation projects nationwide, while www.TogetherGreen.org helps users take individual conservation action and share and celebrate success stories. The TogetherGreen initiative and grants programs are funded by a $20 million Toyota gift to Audubon, the largest in the conservation group’s long history.
Now in its second century, Audubon connects people with birds, nature and the environment that supports us all. Our national network of community-based nature centers, chapters, scientific, education, and advocacy programs engages millions of people from all walks of life in conservation action to protect and restore the natural world. Visit Audubon online at www.audubon.org.
Maine Audubon works to protect Maine’s wildlife and wildlife habitat by engaging people of all ages in education, conservation and action. With a 160-year history of connecting people with nature, Maine Audubon is the only organization in Maine working to conserve wildlife in three ways: providing hands-on environmental education for people of all ages, conducting research and wildlife conservation projects statewide, and taking action to help shape effective science-based conservation policy. Support for Maine Audubon comes from its 11,000 members, donors, and volunteers, including individuals, foundations, and corporations. Maine Audubon is an affiliate of Audubon’s national organization and has local chapters statewide; membership in Maine Audubon includes Audubon membership at the national, state, and local levels. Maine Audubon’s 10 wildlife sanctuaries and its community-based environmental centers, citizen science programs, and hundreds of trips, programs, classes, and camps offer young children through senior citizens wide-ranging opportunities to explore, learn about, and care for Maine’s wildlife throughout the year. To find out more, please visit www.maineaudubon.org.
Toyota (NYSE: TM) established operations in the United States in 1957 and currently operates 10 manufacturing plants, with another under construction in Mississippi. Toyota is committed to being a good corporate citizen in the communities where it does business and believes in supporting programs with long-term sustainable results. Through its corporate initiatives, manufacturing operations and philanthropy, Toyota supports numerous organizations across the country, focusing on education, the environment and safety. In 2007, Toyota contributed more than $56 million to philanthropic programs in the U.S. For more information on Toyota's commitment to improving communities nationwide, visit http://www.toyota.com/community.
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