Stan Mussared was awarded the Allen and Beryl Strom Award in 2018. This NPA Volunteer Award is made for outstanding conservation efforts and outcomes that have benefited both NPA and the wider community.
Peter Morgan presented the award to Stan on behalf of Anne Dickson, NPA President. During the Award presentation Peter spoke of the contribution of Allen Strom, and how closely Stan’s ethos aligned with Allen and Beryl’s in the areas of conservation and education.
The Allen and Beryl Strom Volunteer Occasional Award is presented infrequently, and is reserved for only the most meritorious nominees. It is the most prestigious award offered by NPA.
This award is named in honour of Allen and Beryl Strom. Allen was a founding member of the National Parks Association, and both he and Beryl were actively involved in NPA and conservation more broadly for most of their lives.
Many members might know Stan as a teacher, through the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme; through promoting Earth Hour to the community; through Earth Matters, the bi-monthly address on environmental matters; or Voices for the Earth, the weekly column for the Grafton Daily Examiner; as a Washpool Warrior; a member of the Gibralta Range National Parks Advisory Committee; and Friends of Washpool – to name a few of his activities.
Peter said the following during his presentation of the award.
I will read some statements that Allen Strom wrote for the Association for Environmental Education in his memoir titled A Background to Environmental Education in 1987.
I think you might see that these could well be coming from a Stan Mussared memoir, if he ever gets around to writing one.
* Environmental education must first and foremost make everyone of us aware that the human animal is but part of the great ecosystem and in order to continue to exist, that animal must respect the laws that govern all ecosystems.
* We disregard the natural systems at our peril.
And what about this one?
* We hope that if enough individuals make a small change in the world around
us, then that will encourage others.
Now that could have been Allen. But it was Stan taking his message to the Orkney Science Festival.
Allen said ‘Bernard Shaw is reported to have said that we do not live long enough to take care’. I think it could be said that environmental education and the protection of natural areas in the national park system is the way we try to make up for not living long enough. Stan has made a huge contribution to that.
Allen talks of moral courage and perseverance, and that is Stan. You can add inspiration. And you might ponder on how such a strong advocate can blend that with such a quiet and humble way to achieve great and good things.
I believe that Allen and Stan would have got on extremely well. And that makes this award a marvellous fit.
But before I pass the award over, I want to mention Magda. In almost every action that Stan has taken, Magda has been there, fully involved as well. You will see her in film with Stan whether it’s in their own backyard or on the other side of the planet as well as in his many presentations.
And so, on behalf of NPA President, Anne Dickson, I present the NPA Allen and Beryl Strom Award for 2018 to Stan and Magda Mussared.
Peter Morgan, November 2018
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