Juanita & Richard Baker. Photo by Jessica Tuggle/Hometown News.

Sebastian man honored as national Volunteer of Year for Audubon Society

By Jessica Tuggle - Hometown News
jtuggle@hometownnewsol.com

SEBASTIAN - Yes, Richard Baker enjoys bird watching and bird photography, but there is much more to his passion for full-time volunteer work with the Pelican Island Audubon Society.

Last week, Mr. Baker, retired director of the Florida Medical Entomology Lab at the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences and current president of the Pelican Island Audubon Society, was awarded the Charles H. Callison national volunteer award from the National Audubon Society for his conservation and education work here in Indian River County.

The Charles H. Callison award was established to give special recognition to an individual or group whose continued diligence has achieved significant success in environmental policy, creativity, coalition-building or education and/ or outreach.

"I didn't even know I'd been nominated until they told me I'd won," Mr. Baker said laughing.
Mr. Baker will be only the second volunteer from Florida to achieve this award, according to the National Audubon Society's website.

Mr. Baker was nominated for the award by Eric Draper, executive director of the Audubon of Florida.

Mr. Draper said he has been impressed by Mr. Baker's perseverance and passion for his day-to-day volunteerism and commitment to conservation in Indian River County.

"He is a tremendous advocate for his community," Mr. Draper said.

In matters that concern water, land or wildlife conservation, Mr. Baker is right there and involved 100 percent, he said.

"He is steadfast, resilient and he epitomizes the standards we look for in volunteer leadership," Mr. Draper said.

"He really stood out in the whole country. This is the highest award for an Audubon leader," he said.

Mr. Baker and his wife, Juanita, a professor at Florida Institute of Technology, live in a wooded area of Sebastian, in a house they designed and built on a piece of property along the St. Sebastian River close to the St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park.

The home is carefully designed to leave the smallest footprint and was built to minimize impact on the surrounding trees and brush, the natural habitat of many creatures, Mr. Baker said.

Their lawn has virtually no grass, only what comes naturally to the sandy soil, and is chock full of trees, which make wonderful homes for birds throughout the year, even if they're just passing through, said Mrs. Baker.

The Bakers also enjoy spending time on the Indian River Lagoon, the St. Sebastian River and Blue Cypress Lake in their canoe. As part of the education efforts of the Audubon Society, they give tours of those areas, as well as enjoy them on their own.

Bird and landscape photography are major hobbies for Mr. Baker, while Mrs. Baker enjoys learning the calls of her avian friends and writing poetry about the beauty she finds in the nature surrounding her.

Together, they wrote and published a book about Blue Cypress Lake, the headwater lake of the St. John's River, located in Indian River County.

The book is filled with astonishingly beautiful photographs taken with a film camera by Mr. Baker, as well as poems and many stories about the history of the lake.

The Bakers donate all the proceeds of the book sales to the Pelican Island Audubon Society for local education and conservation projects.

One project that is still in the works, despite several setbacks, is the creation of a nature center.

"We're currently looking for a site for our nature center, which would be staffed by community members," Mr. Baker said.

The center would be a place for education and instruction. One proposed location was already rejected by the Indian River County Board of County Commissioners, but that hasn't deterred Mr. Baker and his fellow Audubon members from pursuing their vision.

The center's mission would be similar to the goals of the Environmental Learning Center in Wabasso, but on a smaller scale, Mr. Baker said.

It would be a place to hold conferences, share wildlife encounters and experiences with a population that spends an increasingly larger amount of time inside and build excitement for nature and conservation, Mr. Baker said.

Being recognized for his hard work and dedication is a wonderful honor, Mrs. Baker said.
Mrs. Baker was the one to introduce bird watching to her husband and introduced him to the work of the Audubon Society and she was thrilled to hear of the award.

"It was totally unexpected," she said.

The office of the Pelican Island Audubon Society is located at 200 Ninth St. Southeast, (Oslo Road) Vero Beach. For more information about the society, call (772) 567-3520 or visit www.pelicanislandaudubon.org.

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