Year Honored: 2009
Biography
Lynn W. Williams was raised in rural New York, where “she discovered… a lifelong appreciation and love of nature.” She believed, “We must educate and advocate now, in order to conserve for the future,” and she dedicated a lifetime working to preserve the natural resources of Delaware. In the 1960s she led a successful effort to protect land along the Brandywine River from development, leading to the creation of Brandywine Creek State Park. Today the park boasts “the first two dedicated nature preserves established in Delaware.”
Williams is also a founding member of the Delaware Nature Society, and “has worked closely with groups such as the Girl Scouts of America, Delaware State Parks and Recreation, and Woodlawn Trustees to advocate for preservation,” in the state. The Delaware Nature Society was founded in 1964, and manages a number of properties around the state, including Ashland Nature Center and Abbott’s Mill Nature Center, and provides “the tools for communities to take action and promote the health of the environment through land preservation, wildlife protection, and watershed stewardship.”
She was appointed chair of the state’s Open Space Council by three separate governors. In Hockessin, the Lynn W. Williams Science and Tech Lodge, is named in honor of her preservation work.
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Sources and Additional Readings
Friends of brandywine Creek State Park, 41 Adams Dam Rd, Wilmington, DE (2022). , 41 Adams Dam Rd, Wilmington, DE (2022). (n.d.). Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.govserv.org/US/Wilmington/195567970479011/Friends-of-Brandywine-Creek-State-Park
Home - conserve, educate, advocate. Delaware Nature Society. (2022, January 14). Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.delawarenaturesociety.org/
Lynn W. Williams - pioneer of preservation historical marker. Historical Marker. (2021, August 31). Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=180667
Lynn W. Williams natural science education fund for girls. Delaware Community Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.delcf.org/donations/lynn-w-williams-natural-science-education-fund-for-girls/
Lynn W. Williams Science & Tech Lodge: Hockessin, DE 19707. Wilmington and the Brandywine Valley. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.visitwilmingtonde.com/listing/lynn-w-williams-science-%26-tech-lodge/1418/
