Santa Barbara County native Peter Schuyler’s lifelong commitment to environmental causes seemed predestined.
His childhood vacations were spent hiking and camping in national parks. His parents both taught at the outdoor-oriented Midland School. His great-grandparents were good friends with John Muir, and his great uncle shared stories of hiking the Sierra with Ansel Adams. His parents — Barry and Jean Schuyler — lived a life of service and activism, instrumental in supporting the preservation of many treasured open spaces that grace the Santa Barbara area, including the Douglas Family Preserve and Ellwood Mesa.
While his parents inspired him, Schuyler’s decades devoted to protecting and preserving the environment are impressive in his own right, and the Santa Barbara Foundation has recognized his service by selecting him as an 81st Person of the Year.
Schuyler serves on the board of directors for the Community Environmental Council and Midland School, and his past service includes stewardship on boards of the Environmental Defense Center and the Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens, and as chair of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s $4-million Backcountry Campaign. He also played a leading role in Foothills Forever, raising $18 million in 90 days to preserve the San Marcos Foothills.
Schuyler and fellow recipient Jim Morouse will be honored at the Santa Barbara Foundation’s awards luncheon on Wednesday at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. Click here for more information.
“I’m humbled, honored and very excited,” said Schuyler, whose mother won the same award in 1997. “My parents and extended family have certainly been role models, showing me how people can contribute to society and benefit causes that are important to them.”
One of the many organizations that have been important to Schuyler is the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, where he served as chair of the Conservation and Research Committee and was a critical leader in the garden’s first capital campaign, helping to raise $15 million for garden renovations.
“Peter is a deep strategic thinker,” said Steve Windhager, Ph.D., executive director of Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. “He always brings great ideas and feedback to the discussion, but also listens and considers the feedback of others. It is not often that you have someone that is good at both ends of the strategic process.”
Through service, Schuyler said he finds deep gratification in sharing his time and expertise.
“By volunteering and working with organizations that I believe in, I’ve gained as much as I’ve been able to provide,” he said. “When you are busy with a job, you don’t always have a chance to help causes that you care deeply about, and finding an organization that you believe in and that you can benefit is a wonderful use of your time.”
Much of Schuyler’s time has been spent in Santa Barbara. His great love of the outdoors started in his childhood home near Hendry’s Beach, where he could look out to Santa Cruz Island, never imagining that one day he would become director of the Santa Cruz Island Preserve for The Nature Conservancy.
Schuyler went on to work at another Channel Island, serving as director of ecological restoration at the Catalina Island Conservancy. He also was involved with the recovery of the Channel Islands fox as a member of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Recovery Coordinating Group.
Although Schuyler retired in 2005, he told Noozhawk that he is so busy now that he doesn’t know how he had time to work. From board service to ground work, he keeps active leading a task force to reimagine Fairview Gardens, consulting on a variety of conservation issues, and everything and anything that gets him outside. He also enjoys time with his wife, Lisa, who spearheads conservation efforts at UCSB, and their two children.
“At the end of the day, it makes you feel good to give back,” he said. “If you can go out and see a rare plant or rare animal or an entire ecosystem come back to life, you can see the tangible results of your efforts, and that is so rewarding.”