Kate and Brock hold up their specialized plaques, hand-crafted by Guner Tautrim, from black acacia with a custom-carved maple wood beaver paw print.
Photo Credit: Jhana Studio
On March 8, 2026, the WATER Institute’s own Brock Dolman and Kate Lundquist were presented with the 6th Annual Eco Hero Award. Granted by the Santa Barbara Permaculture Network, this award recognizes those who have made significant and positive change in the world for more than 30 years.
For the past several decades, Kate and Brock have modeled this positive change through transformative advocacy for beaver, salmon, fire resilience, and our shared watersheds. Our Co-Director duo was honored to be recognized alongside an illustrious line up of past recipients including John D. Liu; Paul Stamets and Louie Schwartzberg; John and Nancy Jack Todd; Albert Bates; Bill and Athena Steen; and Roxanne Swentzell.
In a Voice News article about the honor, Margie Bushman, Co-Founder, Santa Barbara Permaculture Network, shared this: “Dolman and Lundquist are perfectly suited for this task. They are “transformative advocates,” who have launched “an extraordinarily effective movement for salmon and beaver, which has engaged individuals, communities, and policymakers, changing hearts and minds about how to coexist with the natural world.”
Kate delivers her keynote lecture about beaver restoration and ecology at the 6th Annual Eco Hero Award event ceremony. Photo Credit: Jhana Studio
With this special award, Kate and Brock were recognized for their many contributions to the world of watershed restoration, such as the “Basins of Relations Citizens Guide to Protecting Our Watersheds” and their highly successful Bring Back the Beaver campaign, which established beavers’ own reputation as “Climate Restoration Heroes” in California.
The lively award ceremony was held at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara and led by Wesley Roe and Margie Bushman, co-founders of the Santa Barbara Permaculture Network. They kicked off the evening with generous introductions and graciously honored Kate and Brock with the award.
A dynamic suite of speakers followed. It was wonderful to hear heartfelt presentations from Diego Cordero, Lead Environmental Technician from the Santa Ynez Chumash Environmental Office, Audrey Taub of the SLO Beaver Brigade, and Cooper Lienhart from Nature’s Engineers.
Brock and Kate pose in front of the Eco Hero Award event poster in downtown Santa Barbara in front of the Lobero Theater (left). Brock and Kate receive their awards from the event’s charismatic beaver MC (middle, right). Photo Credit: Jhana Studio
As the evening’s awardees and keynote speakers, Brock and Kate gave talks and led a Q&A session, alongside an entertaining onstage beaver companion—this one a bit larger-than-life.
The night came to a close with many friends, old and new, in a vibrant reception in the Lobero Courtyard. Let the good work continue!
