CSU Monterey Bay faculty member Suzanne Worcester has received a Garden Club of America Club Conservation Commendation for her work with students and the community.

The award is given to a person who has made significant contributions to conservation in her or his community and is not a GCA member. The Carmel-by-the-Sea Garden Club nominated her for the award.

Dr. Worchester is a professor in the Division of Science and Environmental Policy.

Her research interests include restoration ecology, conservation biology and environmental science education. Her personal interests include conservation, sustainability and enjoying nature.

She and her family “try to chart the path to a more sustainable American lifestyle,” to make sure her children “will be able to experience the many beautiful places that exist on this planet,” Dr. Worchester said.

She is a member of Keep Fort Ord Wild and the Fort Ord Recreational Users, and has been active in the movement to focus development on the blighted lands of Fort Ord rather than in the remaining wildlands. She worked with others to save the coast live oak trees and wild space at the Whispering Oaks property and lay the groundwork for Fort Ord public lands to be designated a national monument. She is a former board member of LandWatch Monterey County.

At CSUMB, she involves students in applied conservation projects such as monitoring dune plant restoration work, evaluating the response of maritime chaparral to fire, and working with the Bureau of Land Management to monitor the effects of sheep grazing on grasslands. She also studies the vernal pools on Fort Ord National Monument.

The award will be presented in the fall.

Read Dr. Worcester’s advice on gardening with native plants in the fall/winter issue of Monterey Bay, the magazine of CSUMB.Learn more about what faculty members at CSUMB are doing.