Honoree Receives Audubon/Toyota TogetherGreen Fellowship
New York, NY: - A Poland, Maine resident 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.
Iain Stenhouse 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 his fellowship, Stenhouse will focus on mobilizing Audubon chapter staff, volunteers, and other stakeholders to assess the importance of several Important Bird Areas for bird conservation and learn more about the best ways to engage the community – so that he can ensure that future trainings are as helpful and effective as possible.
Involved in conservation for 16 years, Stenhouse is currently the Senior Scientist in the National Audubon Society’s Important Bird Areas program. He is responsible for training volunteers and staff members to monitor natural areas across the country – areas that are vital to birds, but are in need of protection. His dedication to protecting the environment has taken him from his native Scotland, to Canada and the U.S., and he has participated in bird research for organizations ranging from the Canadian Wildlife Service to Audubon Alaska. As someone well-versed in conservation science through his own past experiences, Stenhouse now looks forward to engaging people from all backgrounds in local conservation issues and the stewardship of special places. He has already been successful in building cooperative relationships with federal and state agencies, Native tribes, and NGOs, encouraging these groups to take on the nomination of sites as Important Bird Areas – and looks forward to strengthening the Important Bird Areas program even more.
“Iain 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.”
“It is a great honor to have been chosen as a TogetherGreen Fellow and I am delighted to be included in such extraordinary company,” said Stenhouse. “This Fellowship brings with it great opportunity, not only for me to improve my skills, but to further the critical work of Audubon’s Important Bird Areas program. At the end of the day, I believe the collective results of the projects undertaken by the TogetherGreen fellows will be extremely far-reaching in scope and impressive in scale.”
Stenhouse has been affiliated with the National Audubon Society since 2004. Half of the TogetherGreen fellows come from within Audubon’s national network; half channel their environmental efforts through other organizations.
Stenhouse received a Ph.D. in cognitive and behavioral ecology from Canada’s Memorial University and a Bachelors degree in biology from Scotland’s University of Paisley. Stenhouse was awarded the 2002 Marcia Brady Tucker Travel Award by the American Ornithologists’ Union, in addition to a host of research grants received from organizations such as the Seabird Group and the Quebec-Labrador Foundation. His articles have been published in numerous scientific journals, including the Canadian Journal of Zoology.
“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 the 2008 TogetherGreen fellows can be found at www.TogetherGreen.org/fellows.
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Poland Man Singled Out for Environmental Leadership
