MC Audubon Awards 2026 Scholarship to River Beatty
In March, 2020, the World Health Organization declared Covid 19 was a global health emergency. “Life,” according to Northwestern Medicine, “changed across the globe.” According to WHO, the pandemic was not over until May, 2023. Everybody lost someone or something, and it seemed like time stopped.
It was especially tough for parents and students at every school on every level. Here is one student’s story. His name is James River Beatty and he is the recipient of the 2026 MCAS Prof. Greg Grantham scholarship of $5,900.
“I graduated from Ukiah High and then went to Santa Rosa Junior College. When the shutdown hit, I had to return home and ended up going to Mendocino College.”
Home for River is Redwood Valley in Mendocino County. He is a third generation member of a back-to-land movement of the 1960s and 1970s. His parents and grandparents purchased land, moved to the valley from the Bay Area, built homes, and helped establish an ecologically sustainable community called Greenfield Ranch, a rural home owners association.
“When I grew up on the Ranch, we lived off the grid—and I was always outdoors. Our land is mostly preserved forest with a small farm in the center.” River continues to live at home and commute to Mendocino College. He will earn an Associate Degree in Biology next spring then transfer to a four-year university that offers a solid education in environmental sciences.
According to Mendocino College Prof. Steve Cardimona, River’s passion for field work includes extracurricular participation in a salmon restoration program along the Eel River in Potter Valley. “Right now, I’m doing fish work, but I want to learn about birding, too,” River says.
Like so many of his fellow students, River’s post-pandemic educational journey has seen unexpected twists and turns. But he held on to his goals “to learn about nature and to conserve.”
We often ask our scholarship recipients two questions: Who are your heroes? What do you see yourself doing in ten years?
“Both of my grandfathers are my heroes because they came back to the land, “ he says. “Our family land is now a certified regenerative farm. In ten years, I will have my degrees and I hope to be in the field.”
Mendocino Coast Audubon Society supports funding for annual natural science scholarships at Mendocino College in cooperation with Mendocino College Foundation and Mendocino College Coastal Field Station. These scholarship funds come from a bequest by Huldie Schoener Clark, monies approved by the MCAS Board of Directors, MCAS members, and members of the community. Scholarship recipients are selected by science faculty staff based on academic achievement, financial need, and participation in laboratory research at the college Field Station near Point Arena:
https//www.mendocino.edu/about/mlccd/our-campus/mendocino-college-coastal-field-station
Donations for the 2027 scholarships can be made to the MCAS Brandon Pill Memorial Scholarship Fund and/or the MCAS Professor Greg Grantham Memorial Scholarship Fund. To be included in this spring’s award, donations must be received before the end of February. Checks to MCAS Scholarship Fund should be mailed to Jim Havlena, Treasurer, Mendocino Coast Audubon Society, P.O. Box 2297, Fort Bragg, CA 95437. Please contact MCAS Scholarship Chair Judy Steele for more information judys@mcn.org
