The Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition is delighted to announce that Tom Crider, of Southbury, CT, is the 2016 recipient of The Dr. Marc J. Taylor Environmental Stewardship Award. The award presentation will be held on June 11 at PRWC’s Annual Benefit at The Mill House Antiques and Gardens in Woodbury. During the evening’s celebration, Crider, president of the Southbury Land Trust, will be honored for his outstanding environmental leadership and enormous contributions toward protecting both our land and water resources for generations to come.
Crider was the driving force behind the preservation of the Southbury Training School farm and woodland through ground breaking legislation that provided a blueprint for a new conservation technique. As land trust president, he guided preservation of about 500 acres of land in Southbury, doubling the existing protected open space. The acquisitions, including three farms, required securing over $6.3 million in Federal, State, and Local funds to make the purchases possible. He also helped in the drafting of a town ordinance designed to preserve rural roads. He also edited and published a book titled "A Nature Lovers Book of Quotations" which has inspired countless environmentalists over the last fifteen years with its pearls of wisdom, insight, humor and appreciation for nature.
PRWC’s Board of Directors established the Dr. Marc J. Taylor Environmental Stewardship Award in 2015 to honor Dr. Taylor and his exceptional vision and long term exemplary commitment to environmental stewardship, and to recognize similar efforts by dedicated Connecticut conservationists. Dr. Taylor, who passed away in June of 2012, is remembered as a highly respected and compassionate physician, educator, and environmental leader. In 1999, Dr. Taylor and a group of his peers founded the Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition to study the quality and quantity of water in the Pomperaug Watershed, a 90-square mile area that touches eight towns in western Connecticut. PRWC works with watershed towns, regulatory agencies, environmental organizations and community volunteers to continue Dr. Taylor's legacy in stewarding the local water resources.
