On June 13, 2009 the Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE) awarded Roy Pilcher the Julie Nicholson Citizen Science Award. The award, named for Julie Nicholson, who passed away earlier this year, honors an individual who exemplifies Julie’s commitment to the cause of citizen science and conservation. We can’t imagine anyone more deserving than Roy to be the first recipient of this award.
Along with his service to the environment through his work with Rutland County Audubon, Roy has spent countless hours working on VCE projects such as the Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas and the Vermont Butterfly Survey. His many contributions are too numerous to name them all here.
Several years ago Roy was awarded the Audubon Vermont Steve Young Award and noted “while I had to sever my African roots in order to start life anew in America, it was my love of birds and by extension Vermont's community of birders that more than filled the initial void. That same sentiment I repeat today on being the first recipient of the Julie Nicholson Award. It is a real honor to have my name associated with Julie's."
Nor surprisingly Roy was not present in person to receive the award because he was busy participating in citizen science. He was out monitoring the birds of West Rutland Marsh.
Congratulations, Roy!