2022 AnnaMaria Abernathy for her leadership of Newton Conservators from the late 1960s through 2021 and her invaluable work in preserving and maintaining open space in Newton. AnnaMaria was also recognized for her success in preserving 13 acres of the Norumbega Park Conservation Area and working to develop guidelines that strengthened the environmental mission of the Parks and Recreation Commission and set standards for land acquisition. As a result of that work, she received both the League of Women Voters’ Jane Leighton Award and the Newton Conservators’ Environmentalist of the Year award (for land-use activism in 1993). As noted by past President Beth Wilkinson, “everyone who enjoys the parks and conservation areas in Newton owes a debt of gratitude to AnnaMaria for her work to conserve them.”
