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SOLVANG, Calif.— Los Padres National Forest officials announced that the Pacific Southwest Region has nominated Santa Lucia Ranger District employee Helen Tarbet for the prestigious Gifford Pinchot Award for Excellence in Interpretation and Conservation Education. Tarbet will now compete with regional award winners across the United States for the national award.
The award recognizes outstanding individual accomplishments in developing and delivering interpretive and educational programs over many years of sustained professional performance. Each Regional Office in the Forest Service nominates one exemplary employee each fall to compete for the national award. The recipient of the national award will be announced at the Interagency Awards Ceremony on December 4, 2024, as part of the National Association for Interpretation (NAI) annual conference in St. Augustine, FL.
Tarbet was selected for her exceptional contributions throughout Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties over the course of her 26-year career. She has been instrumental in spearheading the Santa
Lucia Ranger District’s youth outreach program, where she delivered bilingual interpretive environmental education lessons to 2,829 students in 2024. She has built and strengthened partnerships with the city of Santa Maria that enrich her programs, extend her reach, and create lasting impressions and a better understanding of the Forest Service mission.
One recurring contribution to interpretive education is Tarbet’s guided tours and the newsletter updates she provides each spring during wildflower season on Figueroa Mountain. For more than two decades, Tarbet has shared information on the varieties of unique flowers that cover the hillsides in March and April and attract multitudes of visitors from near and far. Beginning with a modest distribution list, her wildflower updates are now shared with thousands of flower enthusiasts throughout the Central Coast
and across the country.
“We are incredibly proud of Helen’s commitment to these programs that connect local youth with the natural wonders found in Los Padres National Forest,” said Santa Lucia District Ranger Ben Gray. “We wish her all the best as she competes for the national award.”
For more information about Los Padres National Forest, please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf or contact the Forest Service district office nearest you.