Blue Ridge Naturalist of the Year Award
The Blue Ridge Naturalist Network (BRNN) was founded in 2013 in Asheville with a mission to connect people who have a passionate interest in the natural world.
In 2015, the BRNN decided to establish an annual award of BRNN Naturalist of the Year recognizing individuals who have dedicated themselves to the Southern Appalachian naturalist community in exceptional ways. The award recipients include the following individuals:
BRNN Naturalist of 2023 Recipient
Dan Lazar served for many years as the director of education at the Western North Carolina Nature Center, followed by several years as executive director of the Colburn Earth Science Museum. Dan has a degree in forest biology from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry and has been an instructor in the Blue Ridge Naturalist program since 2005.
Saturday — 07:00 AM – 08:00 AM
Every Saturday on WTZQ at 7am you can listen to Nature News with Carlton Burke, our 2022 Naturalist recipient and Dan Lazar.
BRNN Naturalist of 2022 Recipient
Carlton Burke
Carlton S. Burke is a naturalist and educator who resides in Mills River, North Carolina, located in the mountains of the western part of the state. He took an early retirement in 2005 from the Western North Carolina Nature Center where he had been on staff for over 25 years, serving most of that time as the Curator of Exhibits.
Carlton operates Carolina Mountain Naturalists, an educational service which offers live wildlife and nature programs to various organizations such as schools and camps. He also serves as a field instructor with Muddy Sneakers, a non-profit educational organization based in Brevard, NC, which partners with public schools to help teach their fifth-grade science curriculum to students on day-long learning expeditions to nearby natural areas in national forests, state parks, etc. Carlton also teaches various classes for the Blue Ridge Naturalist Certificate Program based at the NC Arboretum in Bent Creek and is a NC State and Federally Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator.
Carlton is also the co-host of the weekly radio program NATURE NEWS which airs on WTZQ 1600 AM and 95.3 FM out of Hendersonville, NC on Saturday mornings.
To learn more about Carlton, read this Citizen Times interview: https://www.citizen-times.com/story/life/2015/01/22/living-portrait-carlton-burke-freelance-animal-rescuer/22165665/
BRNN Naturalist of 2021 recipient:
Jim Poling
The BRNN Annual meeting was held on Tuesday Nov. 16th. We awarded Jim Poling with the Blue Ridge Naturalist of 2021. Barb Harrison did the following Introduction.
Every year since 2013 excluding 2020, the Blue Ridge Naturalist Network has selected a person who has influenced the public in understanding the ecological relationships, tremendous biodiversity and the beauty of these WNC mountains. Jim Poling is one of these special people.
Jim received his BRN certificate in 2013 and almost immediately began offering monthly bird walks and wildflower walks for the Black Mountain community where he lives. The walks started out small but before long Jim had a following which went beyond his community.
It is not unusual to drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the morning and see Jim surrounded by a large group of people at one of the mile markers getting ready for a wildflower or bird hike. Jim in his broad brimmed hat, camera strapped on one side of his body, binoculars hanging from his chest and a satchel containing a variety of books, He is off to educate all of us and to show us what these mountains have to offer. Jim keeps us all up to date on what wildflowers are blooming at the time, what birds are migrating, through his incredible photography that he has shared with all of us through the BRNN Facebook page and our website.
IF you are lucky to attend one of Jim’s walks you will realize that he has a tremendous love for these mountains and has a gift for inspiring us to get out there which he will share with us.
Your passion and commitment for the natural world of our mountain region is truly inspiring and we are honored and privileged to recognize you as the Blue Ridge Naturalist of 2021. Congratulations.
Well, deserved, my friend.
BRNN Naturalist of 2019 recipient:
Jonathan Marchal
The 2019 BRNN Naturalist of the Year was Jonathan Marchal, the Youth Education manager at The North Carolina Arboretum, who had been an integral and critically important part of the Youth Education program at the Arboretum since its inception in 2005. During these 14+ years, the Youth Education program has grown from 3,000 to 26,000 participants, and there will be hundreds more young participants as Jonathan fully realizes his vision for programs well beyond the Arboretum and Buncombe County.
Jonathan holds a master’s degree in park, recreation and tourism management, a bachelor’s of arts in ecology and an associate of applied science in recreation and wildlife management. Previously, he worked for the National Park Service, North Carolina State Parks, Trout Unlimited and several Boy Scout summer camps.
A certified Environmental Educator and Eagle Scout, Jonathan has been recognized by the North Carolina Science Teachers Association for his exceptional service to science education. He also serves on the board of the Environmental Educators of North Carolina as President Elect, and received the organization’s Outstanding Newcomer award for his service.
As Youth Education manager at the Arboretum, Jonathan Marchal is in charge of the development and the implementation of all youth education initiatives including, for example, the summer Arboretum Discovery Day Camp program with around 12,000 students participating in field trips and other ecology and outdoor-skill-themed activities.
The Discovery Day Camp involves children and parents who choose to participate in outdoor activities at the Arboretum and who are mostly from Buncombe County, but Jonathan’s vision for youth involvement with nature has been more ambitious in both scope and region, and he has successfully expanded and found funding for three exciting projects beyond programs at the Arboretum. First, he initiated two projects, Project OWL (Outdoor Wonders and Learning) and Project Explore, both of which involve schools, teachers and science curricula outside the classroom.
OWL emphasizes learning outdoors at school by developing a curriculum for teachers that utilizes outdoor study areas, not only for science, but also for math and reading. Project Explore was based upon encouraging and modeling how to be an outdoor educator for teachers. Then teachers choose a citizen science project which engages students, not only to learn about science, but also to record information about what’s happening outside the classroom and sharing it. For example, teacher and students might decide to observe and record what birds are outside their classroom, how their population fluctuates and why and what they eat and where and when.
Jonathan and his team at the Arboretum then developed an exciting and innovative program that expands across the state: ecoEXPLORE (Experiences Promoting Learning Outdoors for Research and Education), an incentive-based citizen science program for children in grades K-8. The program encourages children across the state to explore the outdoors and to participate in citizen science, which combines science exploration with kid-friendly technology to foster a fun learning environment for children. Although it was an initiative of The North Carolina Arboretum, several partners and collaborators participated in establishing and funding ecoEXPLORE. These include:
-North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation
-Burroughs Wellcome Fund
-Duke Energy Foundation
-Buncombe County Recreation Services.
A quick definition of citizen science: It is a grassroots movement that encourages volunteers of any age to collect and submit scientific information to real-life scientists to assist them in their research and data analysis. The intent is to help professional scientists understand changes in the environment and to examine how these changes impact plants, animals and other natural resources. And there is an added benefit for children who participate in ecoEXPLORE, they learn foundational skills integral to the scientific method as they observe, record, ask questions and gather information. These skills are important because they support the State’s STEM curriculum, a hands-on integrated approach to teaching science, technology, engineering and math.
BRNN Naturalist of 2018 recipient:
Marci Spencer
The 2018 recipient of the BRNN Naturalist of the Year award was Marci Spencer, a well known and acclaimed naturalist, teacher and author in Western North Carolina.
To begin the ceremony, Ken Czarnomski, president of BRNN, showed some photographs of Marci beginning with a photo of Marci rafting with her grand-daughter on the Nantahala River. He then related that Marci once told him that she decided when she was about her grand- daughter’s age to visit and learn about every natural site and State park in North Carolina — a mission which she has accomplished! Tom Southard then read a letter about Marci’s accomplishments written by William Lew Kearney, retired District Ranger, Wayah Ranger District Nantahala National Forest, stating that Marci has spent countless hours informing numerous non-profit organizations such as the Sierra Club and the BRNN, as well as countless groups of children inspiring them to love the outdoors as much as she does. A third letter of support was read by Penelope Reed from Nancy East, a board member of Shining Rock.
Most of us met Marci when she enrolled in the BRN program at the Arboretum over five years ago. She not only took BRN classes, but she also continued to volunteer, for example, at Clingmans Dome and with the Appalachian Bear Rescue, and to develop naturalist education programs for elementary school students. Marci is a consummate teacher, and Ken described a class in interpretive education where Marci had brought her doves into the room to demonstrate how bids fly. Her demonstration was so delightful, compelling and informative, that no one was watching the clock as she went far beyond her allotted time! Marci has written several articles and books, and her knowledge and memory of the people and places of Western North Carolina is phenomenal. He extolled everyone not to ever miss one of Marci’s presentation. Linda Martinson, BRNN secretary, then presented Marci with the a leather field notebook that all BRNN award recipients receive with Marci’s name and BRNN 2018 inscribed on the cover as Blue Ridge Naturalist of 2018. Marci then thanked everyone for the honor and spoke passionately about how critical and unique our WNC area is and how important organizations like BRNN are for preserving it. As always, she held her audience in thrall.
BRNN Naturalist of 2017 recipient:
Scott Dean
In 2017, the BRNN Naturalist of the Year was awarded to Scott Dean in recognition of his deep commitment and numerous and significant contributions to the spectacular biodiversity of the Southern Appalachians. Scott really didn’t need any introduction to most of the attendees in the room because he had taught BRN wildflower classes to most of them and also introduced them to the treasures of the Blue Ridge through his organization, Western North Carolina, Naturally. Two letters were read from Frances Figart, Interpretive Products and Services Director of the Great Smoky Mountains Association, and Jessie Wilder. Frances’s final words are of particular note because they describe Scott so well: “Scott will tell you things you’ve never known before in a homespun yet erudite way that can’t be duplicated anywhere. Like a pink or yellow lady slipper orchid, Scott is a rare jewel of these mountains who should be treasured and enjoyed.” With this award, members of the BRNN demonstrated that we all certainly do treasure, appreciate and enjoy Scott Dean.
BRNN Naturalist of 2016 recipient:
George and Elizabeth Ellison
The 2016 BRNN Naturalist of the Year award ceremony for George and Elizabeth Ellison was held on November 12, 2016. The BRNN annual meeting and award ceremony were held in conjunction with a book-signing ceremony, hosted by the NC Arboretum, to commemorate the release of their latest book “Literary Excursions in the Southern Highlands”, written by George and beautifully illustrated by Elizabeth. This book is one of six that the Ellisons have created together. George described his book as autobiographical essays that tell stories about nature, and one reader was quoted as stating that reading George’s books is always like coming home. The BRNN Naturalist of the Year award was presented to both George and Elizabeth for their artistic originality and because their commitment to raising awareness, knowledge, and understanding in our mountain region is truly inspiring.
BRNN Naturalist of 2015 recipient:
Jessie Wilder
In November 10, 2015, BRNN presented the first Naturalist of the Year award to Jessie Wilder, who founded the Blue Ridge Naturalist certification program. At the award ceremony, Scott Dean, who had worked with Jessie since she started the Blue Ridge Naturalist program at the Reuters Institute in 2005, explained how Jessie had obtained a $7,000 grant from the WNC Community Foundation to start the program, which moved to the Arboretum in 2010. Jessie has previously worked in health care, and she is a certified interpretive guide. She has remained involved in the BRN program since its founding, first as the coordinator and now as an instructor. Most BRN participants have taken Jessie’s excellent Interpretive Theory class, and everyone in the BRN program has benefited from her commitment and dedication to the program. Scott also spoke about Jessie’s dedication, contributions, and enthusiasm, and he showed an excellent slideshow of BRN participants as he spoke. Following these tributes, there were several spontaneous tributes from those in attendance. Jessie closed the evening with a heartfelt “thank you” saying that she was thrilled to see how the program had grown.
