Students receive Jefferson Award

Melissa Carlson, Alexandra Carlson, and Supervisor Pete Kelley

“So, Alexandra and Melissa Carlson – after years of volunteer effort, and being named to the board of the Sonoma Ecology Center, you’ve just won the County’s highest honor for public service — where will you go from here?” Answering in unison, the twins shout, “College!”
For their volunteer work inspiring youth to be more involved in environmental issues, the 17-year-old Sonoma Valley High School seniors have been honored with a 2009 Jefferson Award, presented Tuesday at the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors meeting.
“They are a dynamic duo, and they represent the next generation,” Supervisor Paul Kelley told the packed chambers. He said the awards were a great way to salute the community’s unsung heroes, particularly two so young. “This is a pair you would not normally hear about, and they are doing great things.”
The Board makes five Jefferson Awards selections each year. Becoming Independent, a Santa Rosa-based non-profit with a location in Sonoma, was also honored. It provides a pathway to independence and personal fulfillment for women, men, and children with developmental disabilities in Sonoma County.
The identical twins (one way to tell them apart: Alexandra swims competitively; Melissa teaches Taekwondo) took an early interest in environmental issues. In 2002, they graduated from the Bouverie Audubon Preserve Juniper Program and trained with the State of California, Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods, and have been active Tidepool & Seal Watch Education Program docents and roving naturalists ever since. The twins interned at the Sonoma Ecology Center and were recently named to its board of directors.
In high school, the Carlsons joined, expanded and made a force of the school’s Earth Club. Throughout their activism, for all the fundraising and clean-up days and bicycle rallies and awareness campaigns, the goal was to get their peers and younger kids to take action to save the environment.
The supervisors cited the Carlsons’ “demonstrating youth leadership in the community by addressing the need for youth to be more involved, educated, inspired and engaged with their local ecology and to help with the preservation and conservation of their environment.”
Examples? “One of the huge things was introducing a recycling program at Sonoma Valley High School,” Alexandra said. “There were so many details, like finding sponsors for the collection bins. And even locks for the lids – one teacher thought the kids would use them as Frisbees.”
Another major accomplishment, according to Melissa, “was developing Green School Guidelines. It’s a valley-wide program,” soon to be introduced through the school district.
All this, and the sports, through a busy senior year including membership on the school mock trail team, which just finished 9th (out of 660 schools) in the state finals. They don’t disagree often, but one big choice looms: college. They expect acceptance letters soon but have their own favorites, and may end up at different schools.
The Carlsons will now be considered regionally, with one finalist moving to the national level. The Jefferson Awards Program began in 1972 as a national recognition system designed to highlight public service in America.
The Carlsons will make a presentation to the Sonoma City Council at its meeting next Wednesday, April 1, about the Green Schools program they are developing. That meeting will be carried live on SVTV Comcast Channel 27, beginning at 6 p.m.