Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Reichard Award Recipient



Day 110: Some of my friends have already heard the news: yesterday, I was honoured with the Sarah Reichard "Hike the Extra Mile" award for my volunteer service with the Invasive Plant Council. It had been announced in an earlier email, and I expected it to go no further than that public recognition. Consequently, I was rendered speechless when I opened my snail-mail yesterday and found a handsome Amazon gift card enclosed.

Quoting from the email, "In 2016, the PNW IPC honors three outstanding volunteers...Collectively, these three conservation warriors conducted 77 surveys, reported 254 new invasive plant records, hiked 264 miles of trail and volunteered 433 hours of their time searching for, reporting and removing harmful invasive plants from wilderness and other natural areas!"

Dr. Reichard was the vice president of the Invasive Plant Council and taught at the University of Washington. She passed away last year while leading a botanical tour in South Africa. Again quoting from the email, "She was a passionate scientist who paved the way and created opportunities for women in science and worked diligently to solve complex problems in the important interdisciplinary field of Conservation Biology."

I am proud to have received this honour in her name.

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