On February 13th, 2024, GPC’s Conservation Education Fellow Jaime Webb completed his second year of AmeriCorps VISTA service with GPC. During that time, Jaime helped to build capacity for GPC’s Land Labs, a conservation education program designed to empower the next generation of environmental decision makers. Because of Jaime’s efforts, nearly 800 school students were given the opportunity to participate in meaningful community science and service learning opportunities on GPC preserves.
If you’ve attended a GPC Walk and Talk, visited GPC at the Bremerton Farmers’ Market, read a GPC Blog, learned from a GPC StoryMap, or attended a Land Lab field experience in the last two years, then you’ve been impacted by Jaime’s hard work and their passion for connecting people and nature.
Members who attended GPC’s Conservation Celebration in 2023 will remember that Volunteer of the Year Dawn Dockter dedicated her acceptance speech to Jaime. Read on for an excerpt from Dawn’s speech which we think does a phenomenal job of capturing Jaime’s impact on GPC.
We are so appreciative to Jaime for leaving GPC better than he found it and wish him all the best in his future communications work with Wild Rivers Conservancy.
The following is an excerpt of Dawn Dockter’s acceptance speech for GPC’s Volunteer of the Year Award in 2023.
Many people volunteer for the simple joy that the work brings:
Just knowing you are helping steward and protect the land you love,
Seeing a student discover an insect in their net,
A student walking toward the bus tells you that this was the best day ever and you should volunteer at their school.
However, many of us need to feel even more connected, wanted, useful.
I need to feel that I am contributing and learning when I volunteer.
So, behind every successful volunteer, there is a person giving their actions meaning.
For me, one person in particular stands out. Jamie Webb, has been my connection and inspiration to volunteer for GPC.
He has asked me out to coffee to discuss how Land Labs worked before we had volunteer training sessions.
Jamie engaged me.
He asked me to walk in North Kitsap Heritage Park to scope out sites for the program while discussing why they use certain wording with working with students.
Jamie made me start critically thinking about science again.
He asked me what I think about this or that or invites me to an upcoming Walk and Talk.
Jamie made me feel needed and wanted within the Great Peninsula Conservancy.
I challenge all of you here tonight to emulate Jamie.
Be that strength behind a GPC volunteer.
Thank you, Jamie, for being the strength behind my volunteer efforts.