AFC’s 2026 Urban Conservation Awards
Honoring champions of urban conservation
On September 18th, 2026, over 160 community members joined AFC at our second-annual Urban Conservation Awards. This year, we held the event at the Autry Museum of the American West, located in Griffith Park — an island of habitat within our conservation region. Together we recognized five incredible people working to protect urban wildlife and habitats.
We reflected on how urban conservation can be a slow process, sometimes taking decades, or even generations, to complete a ecological study, protect and restore a piece of land, or to see monumental change across a region. But what each of our honorees know well, is that in tandem with this long-term commitment, there are small impactful choices we can make every day to support wildlife. Whether it’s turning off a light at night, planting one native buckwheat, or attending a restoration event, these actions have a tangible impact on our urban ecosystems and wildlife.
The event was a celebration of those actions and the people taking them every single day. See some photographs from the evening below and scroll down to learn about our 2026 Awardees!
Event photography by Moses Aubrey.
Our 2026 awardees: Beth Pratt, Tina Calderon, Nina Raj, Travis Longcore, and Mickey Long.
To kick off the evening, Assemblymembers John Harabedian and Nick Schultz presented AFC with $3.5 million in funding from the State of California allocated through the Wildlife Conservation Board in Assemblybill 113. For more information about this exciting investment please click here!
We were thrilled to announce the winning image of the 2026 Viewer’s Choice Award, part of our Nature Photography Contest: Coyote’s Domain by Kimberly Thomas.
2026 Awardees
MONARCH award
This award is given in recognition of an honoree who has worked to connect communities, land, nature, or ideas in support of urban conservation.
The recipient of our 2026 Monarch Award was Tina Orduno Calderon, in honor of her work to connect community members to the natural world through education and storytelling.
Tina Orduno Calderon is a Culture Bearer and land & water protector of Gabrielino Tongva, Chumash, Yoeme and Chicana descent. She is wife, mother, grandmother, sister and auntie to many.
Tina is a singer / Song Keeper, poet and storyteller and has composed over two dozen songs in her ancestral languages of Tongvé and Chumash. She strongly believes in honoring her ancestors by sharing their history and educating others about Indigenous truths.
As a public speaker Tina has shared with thousands of people and works closely with many environmental organizations and schools. Tina also serves on several Boards and holds a few Advisory positions all in the educational and environmental fields in order to give voice to the lands, waters and sacred elements and to encourage others to be good relatives.
WILD VOICES award
Recognizing someone who has worked to support wildlife.
The recipient of our 2026 Wild Voices Award was Travis Longcore for his excellence in scientific research on urban ecology and light pollution.
Travis Longcore, Ph.D., studies how cities affect wildlife and how wildlife can thrive alongside people. A UCLA scientist and co-founder of The Urban Wildlands Group, he’s spent three decades researching the impacts of artificial light at night, restoring habitat for endangered butterflies, and helping rebuild populations of plants and animals on the brink. His work bridges rigorous science and real-world advocacy for wild places in our cities and beyond.
Sunrise award
In recognition of a young person working in urban conservation.
The recipient of our 2026 Sunrise Award was Nina Raj for her work protecting biodiversity through the founding and operation of Altadena Seed Library.
Nina Raj is the founder of Altadena Seed Library, a project dedicated to community stewardship, rewilding urban spaces, and rekindling relationships to the more-than-human world. Her work includes educational programming, environmental organizing, and conservation seed banking.
Through a partnership with LA County, Nina is working to bring to life her concept for a decentralized seed bank at nature centers across the region; by developing a seed banking curriculum designed for cooperative community stewardship, she hopes to build capacity for volunteers and docent naturalists to conserve the hyperlocal genetics of wild seed populations. In the wake of the Eaton Fire, she is also working collaboratively to heal contaminated soils and distribute seeds to fire-affected families. Prior to founding Altadena Seed Library, she spent over a decade in brand development and creative leadership for environmental and purpose-driven brands.
Oak Leaf award
Recognizing a lifetime of achievement in conservation, awarded to honorees with a long legacy or history of meaningful work in conservation.
The recipient of our 2026 Oak Leaf Award was Mickey Long in honor of a lifetime spent studying and protecting the natural world and advancing the work of regional conservation organizations.
Mickey Long retired as the Natural Areas Administrator over 19 natural areas, nature centers and wildflower sanctuaries for the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, based at Eaton Canyon Nature Center. He worked in the Nature Centers system for 39 years.
He obtained his degree in Zoology from California State University Los Angeles and taught college environmental biology and human ecology courses and currently teaches bird identification and ecology classes for the Nature Centers and Pasadena Audubon. Mickey’s research interests are in ornithology, herpetology and botany. He is former Rare Plant Chair for the Ca. Native Plant Soc., San Gabriel Mtns. Chapter, past President and Conservation Chair of the Pasadena Audubon Society, and, for 14 years, Biology Advisor for the Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy. He is active with several conservation organizations. He actively contributes to Citizen Science databases, with over 6200 Observations in iNaturalist and 5800 checklists in eBird.
President's award
Selected by the AFC Board of Directors, for special recognition in the field of urban conservation.
The recipient of our 2026 President’s Award was Beth Pratt in recognition of her instrumental role in the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing and her advocacy for wildlife across California
A lifelong advocate for wildlife, Beth Pratt has worked in environmental leadership roles for over 25 years, and in two of the country’s largest national parks: Yosemite and Yellowstone. As the California Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation, Pratt leads the #SaveLACougars campaign to build the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which broke ground on Earth Day in 2022. The largest wildlife crossing of its kind in the world, it will help save a population of mountain lions from extinction.
In 2023, Beth founded The Wildlife Crossing Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating the building of connectivity infrastructure across California, the United States, and the world, in order to reconnect lands for the future of the wild world. Her books include When Mountain Lions are Neighbors, and I Heart Wildlife: A Guided Activity Journal for Connecting With the Wild World. Beth spent over three decades researching and studying wildlife in the field for her newest book, Yosemite Wildlife: The Wonder of Animal Life in California’s Sierra Nevada (2025), the first book solely dedicated to the park’s wildlife in over a hundred years.
Thank you to our 2026 sponsors!
Aliya & David Coher, Dave Doody, Taylor & Don Hall, Chris & Katie Poole, Mitch M. Tsai Law Firm
