Valerie Cassity - Special to the Sun

On April 12, the Kern Valley’s own nature expert, Alison Sheehey, was awarded the highest honor that the local Kern-Kaweah Chapter of the Sierra Club bestows; the highly coveted 'Sierra Cup.'

The Sierra Club Cup Award has been given annually since 1956 and is the highest award granted by the Kern-Kaweah Chapter. It is also the simplest - there is no plaque; it is simply a Sierra Club cup engraved with the awardee's name. This award is given at the annual chapter banquet along with several other important volunteer awards. Each year the previous year's recipient is asked to contact previous award winners for their nomination. With nominations in hand the prior award winners vote to for who they believe to be the most deserving candidate. The honoree's name is held in secret until the night of the banquet when all prior winners names are read and then in a "this is your life" moment the current recipient's biography is read.

Ara Marderosian left, Kern-Kaweah Chapter President Arthur Unger look on as Alison Sheehey imitates the hoot of a Spotted Owl, in honor of last year’s winner, Ara Marderosian.

Sheehey, the Outreach Coordinator for California Audubon’s Kern River Preserve, has a long and illustrious history of working behind the scenes to protect, preserve, and document the natural gems that are found in Kern County. 'My passion for the environment was ignited early as a young child where I and my playmates invented a scavenger hunt game to pick up litter from our neighborhood,' she remembered.

A resident of California since 1976, Sheehey moved to Kern County as a young mother in 1980. Her history with the Sierra Club began in 1986 when she called a meeting and met with other interested parties to envision the protection-effort for the Cole’s Levee area, which led to the eventual protection of 6,000 acres. In 1989, Alison met with the president of the National Audubon Society along with many other politically-connected people to help to sow the seed for the protection of the San Emidio Ranch. She takes no credit for its purchase by the Wildlands Conservancy, but is hopeful her efforts played a role.

In 1990, Alison, with the assistance of many others, helped to coordinate Bakersfield’s Earth Day festival and later that year, she held a media conference to educate the public about the ill conceived Kern River Freeway and the devastating effect it would have on the migration for Kern County’s endangered species.

In 1992, Sheehey spoke before a congressional subcommittee about why Senator Cranston’s Desert Act was a good idea. 'Alison works in the background creating the definitive natural history of Kern County so she can provide pertinent information to frontline Chapter activists and others who are working to protect our fragile natural world,' said Ara Marderosian, Executive Director of Sequoia ForestKeeper and 2006 Sierra Cup award winner.

Alison’s nom de plume, Nature Ali, is the author of the website Nature Alley by Nature Ali. In addition to the extensive information and photographs available on her website, she has authored several brochures on local natural history and has had photographs published in local and national newspapers and magazines.

Alison was thrilled to receive this award from among such a distinguished group of recipients and imitated the hoot of a Spotted Owl in appreciation of last year's winner, Ara Marderosian, who presented her this year's Cup Award. To view Sheehey’s amazing and thorough website on the natural attractions of Kern County, visit her website at www.natureali.org.