Volume 27 Issue 1, Winter  2022

by Kim Strader, Volunteer Coordinator

The Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy inspires, motivates, and engages people to protect, preserve and restore wildlife habitat. Many of our volunteers naturally gravitate to one or two of these mission areas, while a few seem to engage in them all. Anne Owen is one of the latter! Her knowledge and desire to help others learn is evident in all that she does.

Anne is best known for being the Audubon at Home (AAH) Program coordinator, training new AAH Ambassadors and working with area residents to achieve Audubon certification. Behind the scenes, she plans and schedules all the tasks involved with the program as well as coordinating our AAH program with the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia.

Anne’s volunteering extends beyond the AAH Program. She has recorded over 1,500 volunteer hours since Loudoun Wildlife implemented the volunteer hours recording system in the fall of 2018. While the bulk of those hours are with the AAH program, she has also been involved in:

• Advocacy — submitting comments to area supervisors to protect and preserve wildlife and habitat.
• Bird Counts — participating in Birdathons and Christmas Bird Counts.
• JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary — assisting with identifying, tagging, and relocating native plants.
• Board of Directors — serving as a Board member for three years and receiving The Joe Coleman Award in 2020 for her exemplary contributions and achievements.
• Fundraising — photographing birdhouses for our annual Birdhouses of Loudoun online auction.
• Habitat Herald — writing articles on native plants in the landscape.
• Social Media — creating some of the most viewed Facebook and Instagram posts on new AAH certifications.

In addition to all this, Anne is always willing to lend a helping hand when needed, whether it be at the annual meeting or cleaning up the Loudoun Wildlife headquarters at Morven Park’s Gate House after a flood. Her outgoing personality, willingness to share knowledge, and her delightful British accent make her a favorite among fellow Loudoun Wildlife volunteers.

We are grateful to Anne for sharing her time, energy, talent, and knowledge with Loudoun Wildlife. She embodies our mission to inspire, motivate, and engage people to protect, preserve, and restore wildlife habitat. Anne and her husband, David, recently moved back to England, and while we will miss them dearly, we wish them the best in their future endeavors.