The WildLife Guards program trains and pays local high school students to protect beach-nesting birds. This work is supported by the Jeniam Foundation. Photo: Luke Franke/Audubon
The Environmental Leadership Awards Benefit honors teachers, business leaders, biologists, photographers, and overall visionaries who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment to protecting birds and the places they need.
From spearheading community planting projects to writing books about biodiversity, awardees pass along their admiration and wonder for the outdoors to their friends, family, and local communities. Together with our flock, we celebrate their life work and their contributions to conservation.
Please join us in celebrating...
CAROLE CLARKSON
and
THE JENIAM FOUNDATION
Recipients of the 2024 Environmental Leadership Award.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Wee Burn Country Club
410 Hollow Tree Ridge Road
Darien, CT
6:30 p.m. — Cocktail Reception
7:30 p.m. — Dinner and Program featuring bird trivia
When Carole Clarkson was growing up, her family spent three memorable winters and summers camping on an uninhabited island in the Bahamas. By the age of 12, Carole had learned how to scare off a boa constrictor, fish for grouper, and appreciate the wonders of the natural world around her.
Today, Carole and her family’s Jeniam Foundation generously help many local organizations to protect and restore our own beloved ecosystem, the Long Island Sound. They have been especially supportive of projects which place young people at the forefront of conservation.
Thank you to all who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment to the conservation of birds, other wildlife, and their habitats.
Gary compiled the Greenwich-Stamford Christmas Bird Count for nearly 50 years, and co-founded the Greenwich Audubon Center's Summer Bird Count in 1976 - amongst many other accomplishments.
This year's Environmental Leadership Award celebrated the legacy of Connecticut's O'Brien Family, and the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to New Haven's Doreen Abubakar.
On June 10, 2021, Audubon Connecticut proudly honored Joseph H. Ellis with its Environmental Leadership Award and Sue H. Baker with its Lifetime Achievement Award.
There are so many great ways you can get involved with Audubon Connecticut and make a difference for both the wildlife and the people who call Connecticut home.
Connect with our nature centers in Greenwich, Sharon, and Southbury. Each unique center offers trails, educational resources, conservation opportunities, and more.
Through land stewardship, science, education, and advocacy, Audubon Connecticut works across the state to preserve habitat and protect bird species that are of state, national, and global concern.