Health & Fitness
Greenbelt Honors Laura Johnson and Board Leaders at Annual Meeting
Greenbelt Honors Laura Johnson and Board Leaders at Annual Meeting, new Board Members also elected.
Greenbelt, Essex County’s Land Trust, honored Laura Johnson, former Massachusetts Audubon President, with the 2013 Al Creighton Conservation Award at its annual meeting May 16 at the Allyn Cox Reservation headquarters. Greenbelt established this award in 2011, its 50th anniversary year, to recognize leaders in natural resource protection. Before serving as Mass Audubon president from 1999-2012, Laura served as The Nature Conservancy’s division vice president of its Northeast Division. She also served as a Greenbelt board member in the early 1990’s. In presenting the Al Creighton Conservation Award, Greenbelt Executive Director Ed Becker acknowledged that under Laura Johnson’s leadership, Mass Audubon has gained national prominence for its work in environmental education and natural resource protection.
Board member Annie Madden delivered the report of the board development committee and announced the election of new board officers serving for one year: President Holly Langer of Boxford; Vice President Doug DeAngelis of Ipswich; Vice President Annie Madden of West Newbury; Treasurer Mickey Culver of West Newbury, and Secretary Peter Loring of Prides Crossing.
Elected by the membership to join Greenbelt’s board of directors for three- year terms are Brad Aham of Boston, Judy Gore of Boxford, Barry LaCroix of West Newbury, Lauren Prior of South Hamilton and Peter Phippen and David Tory, both of Essex. Executive Director Ed Becker closed the business-meeting portion of the evening by recognizing the long-time service of outgoing board members Maria Van Dusen of Marblehead, Elton McCausland of Ipswich, Al Craig of Essex and Jeff Allsopp of Hamilton.
Greenbelt’s Director of Land Stewardship, David Rimmer gave a presentation on Greenbelt’s expanded Osprey Program and Greenbelt’s role for several decades in helping osprey populations rebound along the Essex County coast. This year Greenbelt is not only installing more nesting platforms for these magnificent birds of prey, but is also streaming live video from its OspreyCam on the nesting platform at the Cox Reservation. Other aspects of Greenbelt’s Osprey Program include a “citizen scientist” volunteer Osprey Watch to monitor nests, and work with a leading osprey researcher to monitor migration behavior of a few young ospreys nesting in Essex County.
