The Vermont Natural Resources Council will present the 2022 Arthur Gibb Award for Individual Leadership to Zoe Richards, chair of the Burlington Conservation Board and director of Burlington Wildways, in recognition of her dedication to preserving and expanding access to Burlington’s natural resources and wild spaces. The presentation will be held at VNRC's annual meeting at Hula in Burlington on Sept 22.
“Zoe’s work in Burlington has been truly inspirational,” said Jens Hilke, conservation planner for the Essex office of the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife. “From on-the-ground conservation to bringing diverse stakeholders together, her work shows what tireless and effective conservation leadership can achieve.”
Richards has been a member of the Burlington Conservation Board since 2013, where she has had a tremendous influence in improving the environmental sensitivity of new development, improving shoreline protection along Lake Champlain and developing community-informed, nature-based solutions to address climate change. As founder of the Burlington Wildways Coalition, she led the effort to increase connectivity among the city’s natural areas and improve the effectiveness of ongoing conservation efforts.
Richards began her career as a wildlife biologist, studying a nesting colony of Great Blue Herons on Lake Champlain, which inspired her to protect the wetlands they relied on to forage and feed.