February 23, 2022, by admin

The Sitka Sound Science Center is grateful to the Estate of the late Marge Ward who left Sitka Sound Science Center in her will. Marge died in 2019. 

Marge and her partner Marlys Tedin were some of Sitka’s quintessential citizen scientists. In 1980 they took a natural history class from a U.S. Forest Service employee and began keeping weekly records of their bird observations. In 2000 Sitka National Historical Park received funding for a baseline inventory of area birds and converted Marge and Tedin’s 20-year records from paper index cards to an electronic database. The two even dedicated part of their home garden for bird habitat. Marge was active on the State Parks Advisory Board as it furthered her commitment to wild and open spaces. She was a sensible, no nonsense woman who came to Sitka as a nurse in 1949. She had a wry sense of humor and a quiet leadership style that required no spotlights or public recognition. She was an early supporter of the Science Center when it began in 2007 and we are honored that she named the Science Center in her estate plan. 

The Sitka Sound Science Center Sustainability Endowment is a way to help assure that science research and science education are enduring endeavors in the region. For more information click here.