Jean Zirnhelt
Weminuche Audubon Society
For the second consecutive year, the Weminuche Audubon Society was pleased to award the Camp Colorado scholarship to Marie Smith, daughter of Don and Tish Smith, of Pagosa Springs.
Marie Smith is blessed with a family who supports and encourages her pursuits. She attended the camp last summer and wrote a compelling application letter outlining the reasons that she would like to attend again. She is an accomplished artist and this camp provides an opportunity to better her skills of illustrating birds. Last year, camp counselors inspired her to pursue a career in ornithology. One of her teachers, Anita Hinger, wrote an enthusiastic letter of recommendation.
Unfortunately, current conditions forced the American Birding Association, organizers of the camp, to cancel it this year for the safety of participants. Marie Smith has found another outlet for her love of birds by volunteering to participate in the forest bird survey currently being conducted by the Weminuche Audubon chapter on Jackson Mountain, Fawn Gulch and Turkey Springs. We are glad to have her with us.
Camp Colorado is a weeklong science camp with a focus on birds centered in Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park. This yearly scholarship is made possible by the generosity of Joan Ward in memory of her late husband, Michael Ward, who served on the board of the Weminuche Audubon Society until his death.
