Margie Purnell was selected to for our 2024 Margaret Miner Environmental Champion Award for her her significant efforts in defending our wetlands and watercourses.
Marguerite (Margie) Purnell has been involved with protecting wetlands, watercourses and wildlife for as long as she can remember, from her early days rescuing insects and amphibians who were hapless victims of man’s built environment, to flagging down 18-wheelers on Route 7 to allow turtles to cross the road. She keeps a “turtle kit” in her car.
Trained as a field geologist and paleontologist with subsequent graduate work in ecology and evolutionary biology, her educational background gave her a very long term view of the world as well as a deep appreciation for the incredible complexity and value of natural ecosystems.
It is perhaps that long term view that led her to work on a number of lengthy projects with and for various small nonprofits for the last 35+ years. Following graduate school, she worked for almost 20 years on the thorny problem that is dredged material disposal in the Long Island Sound estuary.
Over time Margie found herself (and her work) moving further up the watershed. She served for a decade on her local Inland Wetlands commission, striving to improve projects and to educate homeowners about the benefits of healthy riparian buffers, native plant species and biodiversity. She continues to review and participate in land use proposals, from start to finish, no matter the duration of the permitting process, since institutional memory is necessary as projects can evolve significantly over time. Margie believes strongly that local land use commissions can help guide development projects in a manner that can serve the dual purpose of serving humans and ecosystems, but to do so they need robust support coupled with ongoing education and training.
Margie is a former staff member of the Housatonic Valley Association. She has served as a board member of the Fishers Island Conservancy, The Lake Waramaug Task Force, Washington Environmental Council, Washington Garden Club, Connecticut Association of Inland Wetlands and Conservation Commissions (CACIWC) and Connecticut League of Conservation Voters (CTLCV).
A 30-year resident of Litchfield County, Margie currently lives in Cornwall, CT where she resides with a number of creatures, all of whom she cherishes, whether invited or not. She lived in Washington, CT for 20 years.