Many times in this space, I’ve told you about the remarkable work that my friend Bonny Schumaker has done with her environmental and animal rights outfit called On Wings Of Care. Bonny is a former NASA rocket scientist and an ex-commercial pilot who knows how to use her aviation skills for so much good, as an environmentalist and as a fighter for animal rights . The work that she’s done here in the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon disaster — taking to the air again and again to document the oil spill and the threats to wildlife and marine habitats — is truly incredible.
There’s only one thing I can think of that Bonny is not particularly good at: Blowing her own horn. That is why I’m writing this post — we have a chance to help bring some much-needed recognition for On Wings of Care. The group is currently vying for an award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency named “Guardian of the Gulf.” I could not possibly think of a better guardian than Bonny and her organization, and so I’m here to tell you how you can help. There are instructions at the end: But first I want to remind everyone of what On Wings of Care has done.
When nobody else was out there showing us the facts about the BP oil spill, here was this one small nonprofit group risking their lives on almost a daily basis to keep us aware of what the situation really was. In 2010, On Wings Of Care collected over 350 samples of oiled water, sediment, and sand from Louisiana and Mississippi coastal areas, which have been used to understand the transport of oil, toxicity of tar balls, and develop a prognosis for the long-term health and recovery of our beaches and coastal wetlands.
2) On Wings Of Care’s articles and the reports from its Gulf flyovers were extremely informative; they basically did the homework for cleanup workers and the U.S. Coast Guard and even the responsible parties like BP, so that the causes of these pollution sites could be found and addressed.
When Bonny’s primary aircraft was damaged by Hurricane Isaac and On Wings of Care lost its “eyes” for a few months, it was a huge loss. Still, they borrowed other planes in order to give us information about the real damage from Isaac in the Louisiana wetlands. And they worked hard to repair their plane and were back in the air for us by November 2012. This is one group that’s truly committed to the work and to the Gulf, and not to themselves. Other groups talk and write and beg for money and flash glossy brochures. On Wings Of Care just does the work.
There’s only one thing I can think of that Bonny is not particularly good at: Blowing her own horn. That is why I’m writing this post — we have a chance to help bring some much-needed recognition for On Wings of Care. The group is currently vying for an award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency named “Guardian of the Gulf.” I could not possibly think of a better guardian than Bonny and her organization, and so I’m here to tell you how you can help. There are instructions at the end: But first I want to remind everyone of what On Wings of Care has done.
When nobody else was out there showing us the facts about the BP oil spill, here was this one small nonprofit group risking their lives on almost a daily basis to keep us aware of what the situation really was. In 2010, On Wings Of Care collected over 350 samples of oiled water, sediment, and sand from Louisiana and Mississippi coastal areas, which have been used to understand the transport of oil, toxicity of tar balls, and develop a prognosis for the long-term health and recovery of our beaches and coastal wetlands.
2) On Wings Of Care’s articles and the reports from its Gulf flyovers were extremely informative; they basically did the homework for cleanup workers and the U.S. Coast Guard and even the responsible parties like BP, so that the causes of these pollution sites could be found and addressed.
When Bonny’s primary aircraft was damaged by Hurricane Isaac and On Wings of Care lost its “eyes” for a few months, it was a huge loss. Still, they borrowed other planes in order to give us information about the real damage from Isaac in the Louisiana wetlands. And they worked hard to repair their plane and were back in the air for us by November 2012. This is one group that’s truly committed to the work and to the Gulf, and not to themselves. Other groups talk and write and beg for money and flash glossy brochures. On Wings Of Care just does the work.
For the EPA’s “Guardians of the Gulf” award, there is a nomination form that has some of the basic information about On Wings of Care — its address and what the group does — already filled out. You can click on this link for downloading it.
The website where the EPA offers their application is here: http://www.epa.gov/gmpo/ .
Note their admonition on when and where to send these:
All Nominations must be emailed by March 11, 2013 — that’s Monday — to gulf.guardian@epa.gov, or postmarked by March 8, 2013, to: U.S EPA, Gulf of Mexico Program, Bldg. 1100, Rm. 232, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000. Attn: Gulf Guardian Award
Note: Email preferred. For questions, contact Diane Altsman, Gulf of Mexico Program Office, 228-688-7015 tel:228-688-7015.
One final time, here is the link for the nomination form: https://www.stuarthsmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/20130308-OWOC_EPAGulfGuardianApplication-FilledOut-v3.docx
You can learn more about On Wings of Care at its website: http://www.onwingsofcare.org/
© Smith Stag, LLC 2013 – All Rights Reserved
OWOC certainly deserves an award!
reposting.
For Bonny, to have devoted all this work she should be rewarded and many other Truthers in the Gulf.
Thanks Sir,
Trisha