Jennifer Stalec—Shelda Taylor Award Winner
Jennifer Stalec is a talented and dedicated teacher at Eleanor Roosevelt High School on the Upper East Side, where she teaches world history to ninth and tenth graders. A teacher for 18 years, she finds her students to be delightful and is amazed by the fresh insights and perspectives they bring to the classroom.
She has always had an appreciation for the natural world and enjoys wild places and wild animals. She believes that plants and animals have a right to live alongside us, even in urban environments. Eight years ago when her principal invited her to become the faculty advisor for the school’s Green Team, she quickly said yes.
All K-12 schools in New York City have sustainability goals, and student Green Teams are one of the ways students can become educated about the need to protect the environment and develop leadership skills while helping their school meet its sustainability goals. The students on the Eleanor Roosevelt Green Team are especially interested in large-scale operations that support the city’s environmental goals. They have toured the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility and worked in the Lavender Field at Earth Matter Farm, a large composting operation on Governors Island. They have led composting workshops at school, created an educational bulletin board display on water conservation, and secured the signatures of their fellow students on a water pledge.
Jennifer has also encouraged the students to become more engaged with the natural world and to take advantage of the opportunities to experience green spaces right here in the city. She reached out to the Linnaean Society last year to ask if one of us would lead a bird walk for the Green Team, and Ken Chaya accepted the invitation. The students were amazed at how many birds can be seen in Central Park and were very impressed by the app Ken created, Central Park Entire, which catalogs every tree in Central Park. Ken was invited back to lead a second walk, and Jennifer led a bird walk herself in the fall. With the support of the PTA, the Green Team has acquired five pairs of binoculars, but additional donations of binoculars and field guides would be welcomed in order to include students who are not on the Green Team in the bird walks.
Jennifer’s enthusiastic mentoring of the Green Team has inspired several students to make a long-term commitment to environmental stewardship. For example, one former Green Team member, now at College of the Atlantic, has become a dedicated birder, and another is studying environmental engineering at Cornell University.
For her commitment to educating and empowering students to become advocates for the environment and the natural world, we are pleased to award the 2025 Shelda Taylor Award to Jennifer Stalec.
Dustin Partridge—Natural History Service Award Winner
Dustin Partridge never expected to build a career as a conservation biologist in New York City, but several opportunities to do field work in the city convinced him that even urban areas can be rich in wildlife habitats.
After earning a biology degree, Dustin worked for an engineering firm restoring a marshland habitat in Alley Pond Park in Queens. From an early age he had loved the natural world and was intrigued by the ways animals connect with each other and their habitats. After graduating from college, he was hired by an engineering firm that was restoring a marshland habitat in Alley Pond Park in Queens. There he saw Black Skimmers, box turtles, and terrapins thriving in a tiny urban space and came to the realization that even small urban habitats can be important for fostering biodiversity.
A short time later, after the Jacob Javits Convention Center had completed installation of their green roof, they reached out to the New York City Bird Alliance (then New York City Audubon) requesting a survey of the species that were using their new sedum-covered rooftop. Susan Elbin, then Director of Conservation and Science, reached out to Dustin asking him to participate in the survey. He found that 14 bird species, including nesting American Herring Gulls, had already starting using the sedum roof! Recognizing the vast potential of the city’s many sterile and barren rooftops, he realized it was time to re-think how the built environment can support wildlife.
He enrolled in graduate school to study the biology of green roofs in greater depth. In 2020 he received a Ph.D. in biology and a certificate of advanced study in conservation biology from Fordham University. His dissertation, Urban Green Roofs as Wildlife Habitat, explored the ecological value of green roofs. While still in graduate school he helped found the Green Roofs Researchers Alliance, an association of researchers, educators, and policy makers working to increase the number of green roofs in the city. He continues to serve as their managing director.
Under Dustin’s leadership, the NYC Bird Alliance continues to monitor the Javits Center’s 6-acre green roof. Since its transformation in 2014, his team has documented 72 bird species, 5 bat species, and 18 orders of arthropods, including 19 native bee species and 11 native butterfly species using the space. The Javits Center roof is now home to the city’s largest nesting colony of American Herring Gulls.
Dustin also oversees the annual Harbor Heron survey, a 40-year effort that tracks wading bird populations in New York City and surrounding waters. New York City is home to the largest wading bird colony in the northeast, and the results of the annual census are used by various state and local agencies and other researchers who monitor population trends. Additionally, he manages Project Safe Flight, a program that enlists volunteers to tally the number of birds killed and injured in building strikes during spring and fall migration. Data from this program have been invaluable in convincing lawmakers of the need for dimming nighttime illumination and using bird-safe glass in building construction.
All scientists love data, but Dustin especially loves being able to use science and data to drive tangible change for New Yorkers and wildlife alike. He remains grateful for the hundreds of volunteers who do the hard work of collecting the data that help conserve wildlife and contribute to the biodiversity of New York City.
For his work that has benefited wildlife and fostered an interest in natural history and conservation among his volunteers and students, Dustin Partridge is the recipient of the 2025 Natural History Service Award.