Volunteers are essential to our work – we could not accomplish all we do in the areas of science, education and stewardship without them. We are grateful for their incredible service and happy that they chose Raritan Headwaters to dedicate their time and talents!

Ted Lurker

Ted Lurker was chosen as the Suki Dewey Volunteer of the Year for his work on a variety of science and stewardship projects.

Over the years, Ted has applied his knowledge and skills to stewarding Fairview Farm Wildlife Preserve, RHA’s main campus in Bedminster.  He built and erected a nesting house for purple martins, helped design a bear-proof bird feeding setup and installed bat roosting boxes at the preserve. He has also been a major contributor to the Raritan Headwaters Kestrel Partnership and the Headwaters Sentinel Climate Stations.

Ted’s volunteering has helped make Fairview Farm safer and more accessible for visitors and children’s programs, contributed to the recovery of the American kestrel and other bird species, and enabled RHA to monitor the impacts of climate change on streams throughout the region.

Ron Bubnowski and Bernardsville Troop 150

Scout Leader Ron Bubnowski and Boy Scout Troop 150 of Bernardsville received the Stewardship Excellence Award for multiple projects to enhance Fairview Farm. Each scout who earns the highest rank, Eagle Scout, must plan, prepare, and execute a project that serves their community. Troop 150 has enthusiastically completed numerous service hours benefiting RHA through these projects. This year alone, 11 scouts from Troop 150 have earned their Eagle Scout rank.

Henry Bayard

Henry Bayard of Randolph Township received a Waterkeeper Award for his valuable assistance on a variety of projects to protect clean water in local rivers and streams. Henry is active with RHA’s stream monitoring program and performs biological assessments, chemical monitoring, lab work, and assists with RHA’s annual stream cleanup. Now retired, he has been taking a continuing education course in entomology and recently completed the Rutgers Environmental Stewardship program.

 Wendy Utberg

Wendy Utberg of Randolph Township received a Waterkeeper Award for her longtime efforts to protect clean water. She has volunteered as an RHA stream monitor for many years, and recently joined RHA’s team of chemical monitors and climate station monitors. She also began dam removal monitoring at two sites, which requires chemical, bacterial, invertebrate, and visual assessment monitoring throughout the year. Wendy earned her Rutgers Environmental Stewardship certificate in 2023.

Marilynn Schneider

Marilynn Schneider of Union Township, Hunterdon County, received RHA’s Community Champion Award. Marilynn started volunteering with RHA for the annual Stream Cleanup several years ago, and her involvement grew to support habitat restorations, fundraising events, stream monitoring and more! Marilynn’s willingness to pitch in wherever needed is greatly valued organization-wide.

Lilah Friedman

Lilah Friedman, a Bedminster resident and student at Bernardsville High School, received the Sustainable Future Award for youth volunteers. Lilah has been volunteering with RHA since 2021, at events such as Shedfest, Lantern Walk, and summer Nature Day Camp. Lilah has been one of our most dependable and capable volunteers; her dedication to our education programs have helped create such a wonderful community for our nature day campers and families!

Ben Donaghy and the Structure Learning Experience Group from Ridge High School

Ben Donaghy and his Ridge High School students were chosen for the Seeds of Change Award, given to volunteers from a school group. In 2023, Raritan Headwaters began a partnership with Ridge High School’s Structure Learning experience. Structure Learning Experience is a work-based learning opportunity to help students with special needs develop job skills. Every week, students have been coming to Fairview Farm and helping with projects like raking, weeding and watering in the gardens, and labeling well test bottles. The students and staff from this program have been wonderful to work with and we are so grateful for their partnership.