Stephanie Williams

“Stephanie is a saint!”

— Julie Allen, SCD Grants Administrator

Stephanie has been a volunteer at SCD’s plant sale for the past 8 years and can be counted on to be there from open to close every year, without fail. She can identify the various native plants and their uses for our clients, and uses them in her own yard. “Stephanie is a saint,” says SCD staff member Julie Allen. In her work life, Stephanie is a para-educator in the Mukilteo school district. She consistently spends her own time coming up with project ideas for the classroom to help her students learn and conquer new skills.

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Snohomish County Farm Bureau

“Dan’s leadership has helped to set the stage for positive conversations that could help to advance collaboration between the agriculture community and others.”

— Monte Marti, SCD Manager

The Farm Bureau, led by Dan Bartelheimer, promotes collaborative, impactful relationship building with diverse community partners- government agencies, other agriculture entities, NGOs, and tribes. Their leadership has helped to set the stage for positive conversations that could help to advance collaboration between the agriculture community and others. The Farm Bureau is bringing the community together to collectively manage our natural resources more effectively through dialogue and trust building.

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Qualco Energy & Werkhoven Dairy

“Qualco Energy and the Werkhoven Dairy have been very easy to work with, were excited about the project and have a unique ability to use this installation as an educational tool.”

— Derek Hann, SCD Engineer

Qualco Energy has worked in partnership with Werkhoven Dairy to complete many projects that help the environment. This year, working in partnership with SCD, they installed a 10,000 ft2 rain garden to filter stormwater runoff from an existing parking lot. It is one of the first rain gardens built with an industrial/agricultural intention on a dairy. Qualco Energy and the Werkhoven Dairy championed this project from the start, and were incredible to work with. This site will have the unique ability to use the rain garden installation to educate the public about water treatment. 

Nomination Highlight Video

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs

“This partnership allows SCD to give back to veterans in a whole new way. Not only does it offer professional and personal growth and development, this type of work also provides a type of therapy, eco-therapy. ”

— Cameron Coronado, SCD Community Conservation Project Coordinator

The WDVA has partnered with SCD to host a series of Veterans on staff through its Conservation Corps program. The VCC provides opportunities for Veterans to connect with nature in their own way while restoring Washington’s natural resources. This partnership has allowed SCD to not only give back to our communities through Low Impact Development projects, which help with water quality and quantity issues, but it also allows the District to give back to Veterans offering professional and personal development and growth. 

Nomination Highlight Video

James Osborn

“James has been a very enthusiastic member of his garden club at Discovery Elementary. His commitment to caring for and protecting the garden stands out compared to other members.”

— Sue Sander, Advisor, Garden Club

James is an inspiration to others. He is in his second year of participating in the Discovery Elementary Garden Club, which meets weekly before school. He is excited to learn information about plants and gardens, and shares this knowledge with others. He shows a commitment to taking care of and protecting the garden and an awareness of the value of having it at his school. His club advisor believes that the interest he shows with this project could lead to a future in an environmental field of study/work!

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Nomination Highlight Video

Jarrett Delfel

“Jarrett has worked tirelessly to build an outdoor shelter as part of his Eagle Scout project, over the last 10 months. He managed the entire project with support from a community mentor, family & his scout troop.”

— Lisa Syravong, Stewardship Program Coordinator, Sound Salmon Solutions

Jarrett is an exceptional youth, and is close to completing the requirements for Eagle Scout. All over Snohomish County, Jarrett has shown his leadership abilities, maturity & sense of community. He has a way of connecting with members of the community including his peers, adults and professionals and involves everyone in a collaborative process. A great example of this is his Eagle Scout project, which is a shelter that will last for 20-30 years and used on a regular basis by every 5th Grade student in the Marysville School District as part of the Jones Creek Outdoor Environmental Education program.

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Emily McLaughlin Sta. Maria

“Emily is a student leader in community projects to obtain and disseminate scientific data on stream quality and salmon”

— Joe Scordino, Advisor Students Saving Salmon Club

Emily is a leader amongst Edmonds-Woodway High School students in community projects to obtain and disseminate scientific data on water quality. In spite of heavy workloads as a full time International Baccalaureate student, Emily has been in the field to collect data every month regardless of weather. Her dedication to conservation has included hands-on work releasing over 800 juvenile Coho salmon into upper stream areas and habitat restoration in Shell Creek, where students planted 400 native plants along the creek to enhance the habitat for salmon.

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Emily in the News

Barbara Brock

“Keeping water in our rivers and caring for our lakes.”

— Barbara Brock's better ground reason

Barbara has valued the outdoors since she was a child. Kayaking introduced her to the shoreline and river processes, and the efforts to protect them, which led her to ever-increasing involvement in watershed management and salmon recovery. On Camano Island, she has served on the Island County Water Resources Advisory Committee (WRAC) since it formed in 1999 and serves on the Salmon Technical Advisory Group. She was and continues to be instrumental in monitoring and protecting Kristoferson Creek, one of the few salmon-bearing streams on Camano Island.  

In addition, she is an active Beach Watcher and member of Friends of Camano Island Parks, and not only educates the community as a naturalist but participates in trail maintenance and noxious weed removal on a regular basis. Barbara gives to the community in ways too numerous to mention in a short biography.  Suffice it to say that her contributions are felt by those all around the region, and we think she is remarkable.

Suzi Wong-Swint

“To empower the next generation of stewards.”

— Suzi Wong-Swint's better ground reason

Protecting Snohomish County and Camano Island’s natural resources is Suzi’s passion. She has decades of service as a volunteer board member for various local non-profit organizations to protect and restore salmon habitat and improve our community’s quality of life.   Most notably, her service with the Cama Beach Foundation (current), Stilly Snohomish Fisheries Enhancement Task Force (Sound Salmon Solutions), and Puget Sound Partnership has been vital to the many successful projects these organizations have contributed to our region.

Suzi created Snohomish County’s watershed education program 20 years ago and has managed it since its inception. This educaton program is now the largest local government education program in western Washington. She is highly effective at developing innovative and creative parttnerships, and thinks outside-the-box to overcome challenges and achieve meaningful results. 

Andrew Albert

“To project a positive image of farmers and farming to the community and to help keep agriculture a viable industry for years to come.”

— Andrew Albert's better ground reason

ndrew is a great example of what we hope to find in our next generation of farmers and in our ag communities. On his farm, he consistently and sustainably balances the need for an economically viable local agriculture industry with the need for protecting our natural resources. He’s progressive in implementing numerous practices on his farm including nutrient management, compost utilization, soil health management, controlled-release fertilizers, conservation tillage, and perennial cropping. Additionally, he’s always willing to help neighboring farms and is an active member of his community.

Karen & Scott Clark

“To protect our environment for the future of our children.”

— Karen & Scott Clark's better ground reason

Karen and Scott practice Sound Horsekeeping and make an effort to reach out to other horse and livestock owners. They manage mud with a heavy use area, gutters and downspouts, and regular manure cleanup. They are also very conscious of not overgrazing their pastures even though they don’t have much land. Karen saw our manure compost bin display at the fair in 2013 and Scott built their bins according to the plans. Not only have they done a good job on their property, they also hosted a farm tour in 2014 and helped us reach out to the Sultan community by providing a good example of real-life practices in action.

Karen Clark poses with her Sound Horsekeeping sign next to her compost bins

Heather Margo

“So we have wonderful land to hand over to our children.”

— Heather Margo's better ground reason

Heather worked with her neighborhood to restore a small section of stream in her neighborhood. She has organized hundreds of volunteers to plant and maintain the site. Heather first contacted SCD to look at a small piece of right-of-way at the end of her cul-de-sac, adjacent to her property. She wanted to remove invasive species and plant a riparian buffer. Heather worked with us to get materials and organized several neighborhood events to remove weeds and plant trees and shrubs. 

Katherine Staberow

“We need to be a part of the solution for urban sprawl.”

— Katherine Staberow's better ground reason

Katherine has been a huge driver of restoration and stormwater work on her own property and her neighborhood NGPA. She has led projects with enthusiasm, working cooperatively with this group of over 30 properties. Her initiative has been a huge driver in implementing these conservation efforts, as she has brought great enthusiasm and easy communication. In December, Katherine coordinated a volunteer planting event to kick off restoration activities, with over 20 neighbors coming together to plant over 400 plants! 

Lorraine (Rainy) MacDuff, Rainy Day Caffe

“When it’s the right thing, you just have to do it.”

— Rainy MacDuff's better ground reason

Rainy was dedicated to making the ‘I Love Lake’ pledge program a part of her business model, and eagerly dove into conversations with her patrons about the campaign’s conservation goals - encouraging her fellow community members to take action. Rainy Day Caffe exemplifies a true community-minded business model and demonstrates the possibility of businesses to be environmental leaders in their community. Rainy demonstrates many of the key qualities of a sound business leader - dedication, passion, and effective communication.

Colleen Keller

“Children, they’re the ones that will impact our communities for years to come.”

— Colleen Keller's better ground reason

Colleen is Principal of Utsalady Elementary, Colleen leads her school’s fantastic work to lighten their footprint on the environment. She involves students in teaching their peers and others how to implement more sustainable practices, and she supports her teachers and students in their ongoing efforts to reach more sustainability goals. She supported student teams that taught their peers how to recycle and they’ve now reduced their cafeteria waste by half! Colleen helped with the 5th grader/kindergartner buddy program in the school garden. This year she is working to initiate composting.  

Scott Moore

“Respect and wonder for the intricacies of the natural world.”

— Scott Moore's better ground reason

Scott’s experience and expertise in both stream restoration and nursery management have been invaluable resources for us. By generously allowing shared use of the County’s Native Plant Nursery, we’ve had the opportunity to sponsor our own conservation crew and to grow native plants for our own restoration projects. Both of these changes have increased our capacity to implement on-the-ground conservation projects, and neither would have been possible without Scott’s advocacy and help.

Dr. Jim Weisenbach

“To protect the places where people can roam and explore.”

— Dr. Jim's better ground reason

Dr. Jim initially volunteered to help out at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church planting near Marysville. He then became a backyard Habitat Steward and has volunteered many days at the Conservation District Native Plant Sale. He is continually engaged with the District and regularly gives updates to us on what he is doing in his community. Dr. Jim is dedicated to conservation and to working with us to achieve it. We’re so grateful for his enthusiasm, dedication, and willingness to donate his time. 

Dr. Jim volunteering at the Plant Sale.

Carlos Aranda

“Because the earth is an important place for humans.”

— Carlos Aranda's better ground reason

Carlos is a fifth-grade student at Discovery Elementary School. The school started its first community garden last year and he has been one of the most involved students. He volunteered his time to come in on weekends and during the summer. He has so much enthusiasm and a protective nature when it comes to the garden and inspires others to feel the same. He has a desire to be very involved in all aspects of the garden and its care. Based on his love for the garden as well as his leadership qualities, he has been appointed the president of his school’s Verde Garden Club!

Diana Cantini

“To work together to achieve something that is much greater than what one person could do alone.”

— -Diana Cantini's better ground reason

Diana is passionate and smart about supporting her community as she helps with the ecosystem positive projects of Farmer Frog. She understands water conservation, habitat restoration, and ecologically sound food growing in the city. Diana works hard to grow food for low income families, distributing and selling to people at the farmers market. She observes pollinators and ensures others understand that by protecting the habitat we help our own organic food patches. She sends the message: people cannot exist without a healthy and thriving environment.

Jack McManis

“To preserve being in the outdoors and observing birds and wildlife for future generations.”

— -Jack McManis' better ground reason

When Jack heard about the MEco Outdoor Classroom project at his former elementary school in his freshman year of high school, he wholeheartedly joined the effort to restore two acres of forgotten, overgrown forest into an outdoor classroom for students to connect and study nature. His passion for and knowledge of birding inspired him to design and build a bird blind and a wheelchair accessible trail on site. He has also planned and implemented efforts to control erosion on a hillside and to replant the outdoor classroom with native species.