News Release
Joe Medeiros Receives 2009 Placer Conservator Award
7/18/2009
Sierra College Professor Emeritus Joe Medeiros receivedPlacer Land Trust’s prestigious Placer Conservator Award at a dinner in Loomison Saturday. The Placer Conservator Award honors exceptional individuals whohave enriched the quality of life in PlacerCounty through resourceconservation.
Past recipients include retired Placer County PlanningDirector and current Placer Land Trust board president Fred Yeager, formerCounty Agricultural Marketing Specialist Joanne Neft, Publisher of SierraHeritage Magazine and Placer Sentinel, Janice Forbes, and Janet Cobb and EllenMaldonado representing the California Wildlife Foundation. All were on hand topresent the award to Mr. Medeiros.
“Joe’s contributions to the quality of life in Placer Countyhave been enormous and far-reaching. In addition to his work at Sierra College,Joe has put in countless hours of volunteer time to promote, protect andrestore our natural resources. By sharing his love and knowledge of our naturalenvironment, Joe has inspired the current generation of emerging leaders tobalance the needs of society and nature, and to provide a better world forfuture generations,” commented Fred Yeager.
In addition to the award, Supervisor Jim Holmes presented acommendation from Placer County Board of Supervisors.
“Joe has educated and inspired students in the department ofBiological Sciences at Sierra College in Rocklin through his teachings aboutnatural ecosystems throughout Californiaand the west. He has also organized and conducted the “Placer’s Future” eventat Sierra College helping participants focus on the protection of PlacerCounty’s environmental, agricultural, and open space needs for the future,” readthe Supervisors’ commendation.
Joe dedicated 33 years to the California CommunityCollege system in order to share his passion forthe outdoors and the environment. He began at Modesto Jr. Collegefrom 1974-1990 where he taught botany and biology and was founder and pastExecutive Director of the Great Valley Museum of Natural History at thecollege.
From 1990-2009 he taught botany, ecology, and environmentalstudies at SierraCollege in Rocklin.During his tenure there he was the first faculty advisor of ECOStudents(Environmentally Concerned Organization of Students), voted Faculty of the Year(chosen by academic senate), Teacher of the year (Chosenby students) and received a lifetime Achievement Award.
Gary Noy, a long-time friend a colleague from Sierra College,shared some history about Joe’s career. “Aside from his work at Sierra College,many in Placer County know Joe as a great naturalistand storyteller. He freely shares his knowledge of local flora and faunahelping people understand the wild places where we live. In addition tolearning about ecosystems and habitat, Joe imparts an emotional connection tothe land. He inspires his audience to examine their relationship with theplanet and act responsibly.”
Event Sponsors included the Armrod Charitable Foundation,Emigrant Trails Greenway Trust, Janice Forbes, Aronowitz & Skidmore, Inc., SupervisorJim Holmes, Placer Vineyards, Adams & Hayes Law, Andregg Geomatics, JulieHanson, and The Houston Group.
Placer Land Trust is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofitorganization incorporated in 1991 and dedicated to working with willinglandowners and conservation partners to permanently preserve natural andagricultural lands in PlacerCounty. To date the Trust has preserved 4,654 acresacross Placer County for current and futuregenerations. For more information about Placer Land Trust or the PlacerConservator Award see www.placerlandtrust.org.
« More News