Joe Medeiros – Conservationist of the Year
Joe Medeiros is a great naturalist and storyteller. He freely shares his knowledge of local flora and fauna helping people understand the wild places where we live. In addition to teaching about ecosystems and habitat, Joe imparts an emotional connection to the land. He inspires his audience to examine their relationship with the planet and act responsibly.

He has hiked and studied in the Sierra Nevada and Central Valley for more than forty years and has led countless trips of thousands of students and mountain enthusiasts as mentor and educator. He served for nine years as a National Park Ranger/Naturalist at Devils Postpile National Monument in Mammoth Lakes. Joe continued sharing his passion for the outdoors and environment by dedicating 35 years to the California Community College system. He taught botany and biology at Modesto Junior College from 1974-1990.

Joe was also the driving force behind Sierra College’s annual Earth Day celebration and has designed the event’s beautiful posters for many years. He was the founder and faculty advisor of the ECOS (Environmentally Concerned Organization of Students) Club on campus, a model for similar groups throughout California.

Tara Fuad (San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy) - Environmental Education Conservation Award
San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy, established in 1987, is a Southern California nonprofit land trust for the 1000-acre San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve in San Diego’s North County. The Conservancy’s vision is a world where biodiversity is preserved and people act to conserve nature and embrace it as central to a healthy community. Its mission is to protect and restore the resources of San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve, its watershed, and related ecosystems for the benefit of current and future generations.

Tara Fuad joined San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy nearly 10 years ago as Education Director. Under Ms. Fuad’s leadership, the Conservancy developed six elementary school and one middle school Teacher Guides. These Guides use examples from local ecosystems to discuss science concepts including adaptations, food chains, wetlands, biodiversity, watersheds and water resources. Concurrently, with extensive input from naturalists, Ms. Fuad developed the Naturalist Playbook which outlines the goals and objectives of each program, key talking points and teaching techniques. These resources have improved program consistency, ensuring more students come prepared and ready to learn, and that naturalists are comfortable and confident in leading the programs.

Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs - Non-Profit Conservation Award
Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs (Bow Seat) is a Boston-based nonprofit that inspires the next generation of ocean caregivers through education and engagement with the arts, science and advocacy. We invest in the next wave of ocean leaders who will think, and act, like artists – looking at issues from new perspectives, posing meaningful questions, and discovering innovative solutions. They believe that changing our world starts by inspiring and energizing youth to vividly imagine a better future, and empowering them to create it themselves.

Bow Seat is creating a new generation of ocean stewards who recognize the challenges facing out blue planet, and is motivated to take action and find creative solutions. Nearly 7,000 teenagers worldwide have participated in Bow Seats Ocean Awareness Student Content since it was launched in 2012. This year, Bow Seat received entries from 63 countries and 48 US States. They have awarded more than $286,000 in scholarships to students, educators and schools to help further their creative talents and their passion for the ocean.

California Conservation Corps – Public Agency Conservation Award
The California Conservation Corps (CCC) is a state agency offering California’s young men and women a paid year of service in working on projects that protect, restore and enhance our state’s environment. The CCC, modeled after the original Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s, is the oldest and largest conservation corps in the country and develops thousands of young men and women into citizens with character, credentials and commitment.

The California Conservation Corps is transforming the lives of young adults and improving California’s forests, parks, trails, waterways and public buildings. You see their work everywhere without realizing it was done by the Corps. From the hiking trails to watch sea lions at state parks, to the trees that seem to naturally grow along the roads, to the sandbags that protect property from flooding, the Conservation Corps is there.

Safari West – Conservation Business Award – Resource Preservation
Safari West is a renowned 400-acre wildlife preserve located in Santa Rosa featuring Wildlife species native to Africa, including numerous species of birds. It is the loving creation of the husband and wife team Peter and Nancy Lang. The park engages in rare wildlife breeding programs that, through exchanges with other zoos and parks, keep the gene pool healthy. Education, conservation, youth internships and class field trips occur regularly. Visitor experience is provided with safari tours and luxury overnight camping.

During the recent wine country fires, the public was horrified with the magnitude of devastation and overwhelmed with loss of homes and landmarks. The heart-warming news of owner Peter Lang’s fierce struggle1 to protect the wildlife became the story of perseverance and encouragement that many needed to endure and fully comprehend the ordeal. Peter saved the animals while his own home burned to the ground, and when funds were raised for him through a GoFundMe campaign, he turned around and gave those funds to the dedicated staff who had also lost their homes in the fires.

Daily Digital Imaging - Conservation Business Award – Improving Urban Areas
Daily Digital Imaging is the pioneer as an ‘all green digital’ commercial print & mail company and was the first All Digital, Woman owned, Veteran owned, Certified Green commercial print & mail company in the seven western states.

In 2004 Daily Digital Imaging installed the first ‘all-digital full color’ print press that uses no chemicals, no solvents and no water in the print process. As a result, goals of achieving a cleaner, safer workplace for employees, and reducing impact on the planet, have both been achieved.

Daily Digital Imaging’s mission in their business model has been to follow the 3R’s: reduce, reuse and recycle.

Kady McKenna (eTreasure) – Youth Conservation Award
This is how Kady describes the genesis of her environmental activism, “I received my very first electronic tablet when I was just a year old. Since then it has broken, and I inherited two passed down from my parents after they upgraded theirs, and I got a different brand of tablet this past Christmas. So I started to think about where all those devices would eventually end up.

I asked my mom if we could collect all of our old electronics and recycle them, just like we did with paper and plastic. She told me that was a good idea! Then I asked if we could collect them from my friends and all the people in my school! And that’s how I came up with the idea of eTreasure! I named it eTreasure because I once read that one person’s trash can be another person’s treasure.”

Since March 2015, eTreasure has collected over 560 donated items totaling over 3,000 lbs. - that’s over 3,000 lbs. of electronic waste that will never see a landfill.

Will & Matthew Gladstone – Youth Conservation Initiative Award
After learning about the plight of the blue-footed booby in the Galapagos in 5th grade science class, Will decided to try and save the bird – whose population has decreased by 60% in the past 50 years. Will and his brother Matty created the Blue Feet foundation to sell blue socks to raise money for the blue-footed birds. To date, they have raised over $35,000 and shipped 3,000 pairs of socks around the world.

They donate all the money to the Galapagos Conservancy, a charity that oversees conservation efforts in the Galapagos Islands. Will and Matthew have been recognized by many national organizations, including Fox News, The Boston Globe, the National Audubon Society and National Geographic.