CHEBOYGAN Kathy bricker, Cheboygan, a lifelong supporter of Mother Nature, was recently presented with the Clarence Kroupa Award of Lifetime Achievement by the Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council.
The Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council was founded in 1980 as a regional non-profit organization. Its mission is to preserve the natural world through citizen action and education. The organization awards honors, such as the lifetime achievement prize, to individuals who have positive effects on the environment.
June Thaden, secretary of the Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council, stated that Kathy’s achievements from the 1970s through the present are both inspiring and impressive. “She has been involved with environmental education and protection since more than 50 years.”
Thaden stated that Bricker is the 27th recipient of the group’s lifetime achievement award. The Clarence Kroupa award was also received by Dave Dempsey and William and Helen Milliken, Jim MacInnes, John Richter, and Dave Milarch.
The Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council Board of Directors unanimously voted to award Bricker the highest award they have for her outstanding leadership in environmental education and activism.
Thaden stated that Kathy Bricker’s lifelong dedication to nature is inspiring to anyone trying to improve the world. “Thank you Kathy Bricker for your profound impact on so many people through a lifetime spent learning, giving, and leading.
Bricker has been involved in many projects since the 1970s to protect the environment and educate others around the region about ways they can help.
Bricker was instrumental in putting together a grassroots effort for the protection of 750 acres of Sturgeon Bay Dunes, Emmet County, from sand mining. Wilderness State Park now includes that area.
She was also the president of the Petoskey Regional Audubon Society. This society brought the National Audubon Wildlife Film Series into Petoskey. They still offer many environmental programs in this area.
Recycle North was also founded by her. This non-profit group was a precursor of the Emmet County Recycling program. She also worked tirelessly to promote the establishment of Michigan’s Bottle Deposit Law.
“She is one-of-a-kind. She puts everyone else first. The Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council awarded her this award for her outstanding contribution to nature education and protection of the environment. Jim Bricker, Kathy’s husband of fifty years, said that she deserved this award and was delighted when we told her.
Jim Bricker and Kathy Bricker also collaborated to produce a series on Arctic Tundra and Canadian north woods, as well as public showings of their films. This includes the well-known film “Caribou Summer” by the couple.
For more than 40 year, she was most likely to be found engaging in some type of education about the environment.
These forums include Snakes Alive! Her husband and she were part of the Snakes Alive! program, which taught students in Northern Michigan schools about native snake species, biology, myths, and their habitats. The Brickers often included Pivot, their adopted daughter, a reticulated Python in educational presentations.
Bricker was also involved as an aquatic researcher at the University of Michigan’s Biological Station, between Cheboygan and Pellston. He also served time as the first executive Director of the Little Traverse Conservancy.
Bricker, her husband Jim, and many others worked together to revive the Straits Area Audubon Society in 2005. They were dedicated to protecting the environment and educating others in the Cheboygan County region.
Two years later, she helped Cheboygan County adopt its recycling programs in partnership with Emmet County.
Bricker and a few other local environmentalists created Earth Week Plus as another project to educate the public through informative, fun activities and increase awareness of environmental issues.
Bricker co-founded the Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch in 2014. Their mission was to conduct research throughout Mackinac Straits, observing birds of prey migrate. The group also focused on conservation and education about the birds.
“She is a true princess. She is passionate about nature and all living creatures. Jim Bricker said that she is a huge fan of birds, raptors and snakes.
Contact Features Writer Kortny Hahn at [email protected]. Follow her Twitter account @khahnCDT.