It is with great sadness and, also incredible gratitude, that I pass along a message about our dear friend Ann Jackson. Ann was diagnosed with cancer just a few weeks ago, and passed away peacefully in her sleep last night. Many of you know Ann by her giant smile, boundless energy and consistent presence at all things WSA. Although she was trained as a Steward in Class 1 (almost 14 years ago), Ann built relationships with Stewards in almost every subsequent class, and mentored many Stewards through their own community projects.
I first met Ann in 2009 when she joined the flagship class of the Watershed Stewards Academy. At that time, we had no idea the long lasting impact Watershed Stewards would have on the local environment, and we hadn’t really even defined what a Steward was. All of our expectations about what Watershed Stewards could be were blown right out of the water by Ann Jackson.
Ann embodied what it is to be a Watershed Steward. Not only in her “walk the talk” personal example, her action-oriented community leadership, and her patient, steadfast mentoring of dozens of other Watershed Stewards, but, Ann embodied Stewardship most distinctly in the value she placed on the people. We like to say that WSA is where plants and people meet…it's where restoration of the land and waters blends with the communities of people who live, work and gather here. It is the relationship between land and people that makes water clean. Ann truly blended that love of community and love of the environment into one. And, although she was one of the most knowledgeable people around on environmental issues, Ann never made anyone feel as if their questions were silly or their perspective was wrong.
While Ann developed, built or mentored hundreds of projects during just the last 14 years, her true passion was ensuring that these projects were well maintained. Ann co-founded the WSA Maintenance Corps, an action group of Watershed Stewards working to ensure proper maintenance. Rather than simply providing maintenance to projects, Ann and her fellow Maintenance Corps Members worked with communities surrounding projects to build skills and efficacy within those communities to ensure future maintenance. So many projects live on today because of Ann’s hard work and vision.
After 14 years of active environmental leadership, Ann was just as enthusiastic about making our community a better place as she was on day 1. Not only was she great at volunteering herself, she was also great at volunteering Mike. On many occasions, Ann generously offered her home for gatherings, and one time, a gathering fell on a date when she was out of town… “Not a problem”, she said “Mike will host you!”. And Mike did – with all of the amazing generosity that is so characteristic of Ann. This fall, when Ann hosted an event for WSA at the OSPIA beach, our parking logistics hit a snag. Ann volunteered Mike to shuttle guests from Severna Park Elementary to the beach. And Mike did – with all of that trademark Ann Jackson generosity and grace.
Perhaps Ann’s greatest gift to all of us was her presence. As the photos with this blog will attest, Ann was always on the lookout for ways to be generous with her time and expertise. Her presence brightened so many gatherings, classes, workshops and projects. She was truly the heart of our organization, and she will be missed by so many. Ann will live on in the incredible impact she’s had, the many, many plants she planted and projects she maintained, and the countless ways she inspired others.
For those who would like to send love to her husband Mike McCormick, you can visit Caring Bridge.
WSA is also compiling reflections to memorialize Ann. To help us properly honor Ann and her impact, please share your memories with us here. If you have any photos or videos of Ann, please add them here. In the coming weeks, we’ll also be discussing how we can honor Ann’s legacy in a meaningful way as an organization…stay tuned!
Suzanne
