R. W. Sheppard Award for 2020 presented virtually to Marcie Jacklin
Normally the conservation award of the Niagara Falls Nature Club is presented at our annual dinner meeting in April, when friends and colleagues gather to celebrate the best among us. With the adjustments to our routines necessitated by COVID-19, this occasion has been deferred to a more appropriate time.
Some news just won’t wait, and so it is that we announce that the R. W. Sheppard Award for 2020 is being presented virtually to Marcie Jacklin, to recognize and honour her for her contributions to the Niagara community in the field of nature.
Marcie’s passion for birding has led to her giving presentations to numerous nature clubs, as well as several libraries and service clubs, and to leading many bird watching hikes. She served as compiler for many years for Christmas Bird Counts and as director for the Buffalo Ornithological Society and the Ontario Field Ornithologists.
She helped with Niagara’s Natural Areas Inventories and wrote four chapters in Niagara Birds, edited by John Black and Kayo Roy. She studied the wellness of residents in a nursing home after bird feeders were installed.
Marcie is currently Chair of the Niagara Birding Conservation and Tourism Collaborative which is hoping to improve conditions for birds and birders visiting Niagara. She is proud to be one of the founding members and President of Community Voices of Fort Erie, an incorporated group advocating for protecting Fort Erie’s critical natural and historical resources for the benefit of current and future residents and visitors to Fort Erie.
When in the future our lives move into the “new normal”, and we again gather to embrace our nature club family, we will complete this journey with the giving of the tangible plaque that marks the presentation of the R.W. Sheppard Award for Conservation to our dear friend and fellow member, Marcie Jacklin.
