SCA Co-Sponsor of June 21 Event at Montshire Museum
(NORWICH, NH) June 4, 2018 — Christina Marts, Deputy Superintendent of Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, VT and Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, NH, will be joined by landscape artist and past national park Artist-in-Residence Joan Hoffmann in the Upper Valley’s third Women in Conservation program on Thursday, June 21st, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, VT. The event is sponsored by the Sierra Club Upper Valley Group, the Student Conservation Association (SCA), and the Montshire Museum of Science.
The Women in Conservation series highlights women from throughout the two-state region who demonstrate exceptional environmental stewardship, innovation, and leadership. The programs offer area residents an opportunity to hear these women’s stories and add their voices to the conversation.
With a background in environmental resource management and landscape architecture, Dep. Supt. Marts has served in the National Park Service (NPS) for 17 years. In addition to her responsibilities at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP, which is dedicated to interpreting the history of conservation and demonstrating contemporary stewardship practices, and Saint-Gaudens NHS, which is focused on the life and work of the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens and the Cornish Arts Colony, Ms. Marts is a team member of the NPS Stewardship Institute. In 2016, she served as a community planner on an NPS team opening the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine.
Ms. Hoffmann is dedicated to painting, teaching, and preserving the wild landscapes she explores and creates her work en plein air. Her impressionistic oils and watercolors evoke a poetic sense of place in our great American commons: public lands, national parks and wilderness areas. She has been chosen to serve as Artist-in-Residence in three national parks: Yosemite (2005), Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP (2016), and Zion (2019). An environmental activist, mountaineer, and canyoneer for the past 50 years, Ms. Hoffmann has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Sierra Club for her advocacy.
“It seems entirely apropos to mark the summer solstice by learning about the remarkable diversity of northern New England’s three national park sites and seeing our public lands through the eyes of a most accomplished artist,” said Judith Colla, chair of the Sierra Club’s Upper Valley Group. “Christina Marts and Joan Hoffmann will ensure every audience member experiences national parks in a whole new way.”
Previous Women in Conservation programs have featured former Vermont Governor Madeleine Kunin, Green Mountain Power President and CEO Mary Powell, SCA Founding President Liz Putnam, and Dartmouth College Professor of Environmental Studies Elizabeth Wilson.
The June 21st event is open to the public and free of charge. Those planning to attend may pre-register at www.thesca.org/wic.
About the Sierra Club Upper Valley Group
Founded by legendary conservationist John Muir in 1892, the Sierra Club is now the nation’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization — with three million members and supporters. The Club’s successes range from protecting millions of acres of wilderness to helping pass the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act. More recently, the Sierra Club made history by leading the charge to move away from the dirty fossil fuels that cause climate disruption and toward a clean energy economy. The Sierra Club Upper Valley Group (SCUVG) is a bi-state organization comprising a subset of Club members in the Upper Valley region.
About the Student Conservation Association
The Student Conservation Association (SCA) is America’s largest and most effective youth conservation service organization. SCA transforms lives and lands by empowering young people of all backgrounds to plan, act, and lead, while they protect and restore our natural and cultural resources. Founded in 1957, SCA’s mission is to build the next generation of conservation leaders, and 70% of its 85,000 alumni are employed or studying in conservation-related fields. SCA is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and maintains regional offices across the country, including the SCA National Conservation Center in Charlestown, NH. For more, visit www.thesca.org.
About the Montshire Museum of Science
The Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vermont, is a hands-on interactive science center with more than 125 exhibits on nature, technology, astronomy, and the physical sciences. Visiting exhibitions, educational programs, and special events are offered throughout the year.
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