The Connecticut League of Conservation Voters (CTLCV) honored Norwalk River Watershed Association (NRWA) President and Pollinator Pathway Co-Founder Louise Washer with the 2023 Environmental Leader Award at the League’s annual Environmental Awards breakfast at the Glastonbury Boathouse on Oct. 3.
Washer received the award “in recognition of her longtime dedication to Connecticut’s conservation efforts and leadership in the environmental community.” Each year the CTLCV honors a few community leaders from around the state who have shown leadership in their commitment to sustainability and conservation.
A 30-year resident of the Silvermine neighborhood, first in Wilton and now in Norwalk, Washer has served on the NRWA board since 2010 and is a member of the Pollinator Pathway’s Executive Board. She also serves on the Norwalk Mayor’s Water Quality Committee, the steering committee for the Hudson to Housatonic Regional Conservation Partnership (H2H), and the board of the Delaware Highlands Conservancy.
The NRWA works to protect and restore water quality and fish and wildlife habitats in the Norwalk River Watershed, which encompasses seven towns: Wilton, Redding, Ridgefield, New Canaan, Weston, and Norwalk in CT, and Lewisboro in NY. The nonprofit organization engages community volunteers to help restore native trees, shrubs, wildflowers and grasses to the riverbanks, meadows, parks, urban streets, and forests of the watershed. It also works to expand community access to the river, the surrounding open space, and its trails; supports research and legislative policy that protects biodiversity, clean air, and water; and promotes education, cooperation, and action on the part of watershed residents.
The Pollinator Pathway, founded in Wilton in 2017, is a grassroots network of over 350 communities across 20 states working to inspire, educate and support diverse communities working together to restore and connect habitat for native pollinators.
Washer and her extensive conservation work have been featured in Outside Magazine, Connecticut Magazine, Edible Nutmeg Magazine, and Northern Woodlands Magazine.
There is no one more deserving of this award and recognition- Louise is a tireless fighter and steward of the watershed and environment in general. My gratitude for the work she does, and for sponsoring the native Pollinator Meadow project I have been working on at Allen’s Meadow for the last 2 years.