126th Annual Meeting Highlights

Cumberland Resident April Alix Receives the Audubon 2023 Educator of the Year Award

April Alix, Conservation Program Coordinator of the Providence Parks Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership, has received the Audubon Society of Rhode Island 2023 Educator of the Year Award. Audubon recognized Alix at the Society’s 126th Annual Meeting held on October 22, 2023, at the Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium in Bristol, RI.

Alix was honored for her work in connecting diverse and underserved communities to nature through outdoor play and exploration. She is a knowledgeable and engaging environmental educator who started her career with Audubon as an AmeriCorps member in 2010.  Today, she continues to partner with Audubon through a number of educational outreach initiatives to city communities.

Using her background in creating innovative programs and events in urban spaces, Alix collaborated with Audubon to develop Providence Birding Adventures, a popular program that gets people outside exploring city parks and neighborhoods on a regular basis. Her efforts to create bird-friendly environments and connect communities to nature helped to establish Providence as an Urban Bird Treaty City through the national Migratory Bird Program in 2019.

She also secured funding for Audubon to facilitate summer camps in Providence Parks for six years and continues to find ways for Audubon to connect with children and families who live in city neighborhoods.

Alix has served on the Rhode Island Environmental Education Association Board of Directors for many years. She resides in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

Photo caption: April Alix receives the Audubon Educator of the Year Award from Audubon Senior Director of Education Lauren Parmelee (left) and Audubon Executive Director Jeff Hall (right).

Rhode Island Representative June Speakman was honored with the Audubon Society of Rhode Island 2023 Legislative Leadership Award at the Society’s 126th Annual Meeting on October 22, 2023 in Bristol, RI.  Audubon recognized Representative Speakman for her dedication to Rhode Island’s environment, action on the climate change crisis, and the protection of birds, wildlife, and the people of Rhode Island.

Representative Speakman (D) was first elected to represent District 68 in Warren and Bristol in March 2019. She is an exceptional legislator who cares about conservation issues and prioritizes them in her policymaking:

• Representative Speakman has been a strong voice in advancing the conservation of forests and siting for renewable energy sources in the age of the climate change crisis. During the 2022-2023 legislative session she succeeded in addressing a critical step in solar siting reform in which legislation was passed to protect core forests and enacted into law this year.
• She is a consistent advocate for environmental protection and climate change resiliency as a member of the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee and chair of the Housing Affordability Commission in the RI House of Representatives
• In 2021 she sponsored The Forest Conservation Act which was enacted into law. This legislation created the Forest Conservation Commission under RI Department of Environmental Management; dedicated to identifying incentives for landowners to maintain their properties as forest.
• Representative Speakman persistently works to advance laws that prevent exposure to cancer-linked polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). She was the sponsor of the 2022 law that requires the Department of Health to set standards for the chemicals in drinking water.

Audubon applauds Representative Speakman for her dedication and support of critical environmental legislation.

Photo Caption: Representative June Speakman (center) receives the Audubon 2023 Legislative Leadership Award from Audubon Executive Director Jeff Hall (left) and Audubon Board President David Caldwell, Jr.(right).