Barbara Bennett - 2025 Jan Holmes Island County Coastal Volunteer of the Year

Barbara Bennett is being honored with the Jan Holmes Award for 2025 for her outstanding leadership in the Island County Marine Resources Committee and many other organizations, and her contributions to scientific studies of, advocacy for, and preservation of our shorelines.

This award, presented by the Island County Marine Resources Committee, Sound Water Stewards, and WSU Extension – Island County, is given every year to an outstanding volunteer whose efforts contribute to the protection and restoration of the Island County marine ecosystem and coastal resources.

The award is named to honor the memory of Jan Holmes, an exemplary marine scientist, educator, and champion for stewardship of the marine environment.

Barbara Bennett has been contributing to the preservation and restoration of Island County shorelines through action, education, and policy recommendations for over 15 years. She served as a Program Coordinator of Island County Beach Watchers from 2010 to 2015, honing her skills in educating and nurturing future leaders in stewardship of waters and coastal resources.  Her volunteer work includes Sound Water Stewards and the IC Local Integrating Organization (LIO) among many other organizations. She joined the Island County Marine Resources Committee (MRC) in 2015 and served as chair in 2022-2023. 

At the MRC, she developed systems to engage volunteers and inform the public about marine conservation, including a 2017 and 2021 Needs Assessment to highlight pressing marine issues. Her efforts include a White Paper ( A White Paper requested by the Island County Commissioners and prepared by the MRC team) that provided information on the effects of climate change and sea-level rise, and a study on shoreline armoring that showed an increase in armoring over the past 10 years, most of which was unpermitted. These initiatives led to the MRC's significant role in advising Island County Commissioners and advocating for marine conservation policies.

From the collection of scientific data through kayak-based kelp surveys, to counting salmonids at Cornet Bay, to her leadership at MRC, the roots that Barbara Bennett planted have now blossomed into the fruit of policy recommendations for protection and restoration of Island County marine resources. She has been a champion of developing partnerships, and she has always acknowledged the participation of team members in the final products. She is a true leader, who has a vision of the interrelationships of biota in the ecosystem, but also a vision of the interrelationships of people through the volunteer community.

Thank you and congratulations to Barbara for all her hard work to make the Salish Sea a better place!