Eco-Spirit award honors Anne Hoover

Anne Hoover, recipient of Spirit in Nature’s 2011 Eco-Spirit Award, leads a life comparable to the busiest of Midd Kids. Though Hoover admits she has slowed down in recent years, her involvement and leadership in a myriad of causes is undeniable. Hoover, who lives in Middlebury, is currently a volunteer for the Green Mountain National Forest and a board member of the Watershed Center, a nonprofit organization that works to educate people about conservation practices and which is situated on land that used to house the town of Vergennes’ water supply. She helped to develop the Trail Around Middlebury (TAM), as well. After Sept. 11, 2001, she organized the peace vigil on the corner of Middlebury’s town green that continues to takes place every Saturday morning. In characteristic modesty, Hoover barely admits to her leadership role and active involvement.
“A little bit I got it going,” she said.
Her activism also extends back to her days working for the New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution, when she fought Vermont Yankee, a nuclear power plant located in Vernon, Vt. In the 1970s, Hoover worked with a group started by Ralph Nader in Connecticut to defeat a proposed pump storage site. More recently, she worked in Middlebury to successfully prevent International Paper, a paper company in Ticonderoga, NY, from burning tire fuel in order to cut costs. The company was restricted from doing so after years of hearings exposed the severe air and water pollution due to their practices.
Hoover’s deep love for the environment stems from a simple truth.
“It’s our home,” she said.
The Eco-Spirit award is given annually to a community member who shows a strong commitment to environmental initiatives and upholds the values of Spirit in Nature (SpIN), a non-profit organization that brings people of all faiths together to appreciate the Earth. Founded in 1998 by Paul Bortz, a since-retired Unitarian minister who wanted to create a group in which people of all faiths could unite and care for the earth, SpIN leases 80 acres of land in Ripton, Vt. from the College. Ten paths, each representing a different  faith ranging from Christianity to Judaism to Muslim to Quaker, run through the wilderness; trees are marked with quotations from different religions. The network of trails is open to all people, and Carol Spooner, president of SpIN, urges students from the College to make the short trip to Ripton to enjoy the beauty of the site.
Spooner, who leads the group’s annual meetings and works with board members on a variety of fronts, said that the Eco-Spirit award honors an individual who show “awareness of both nature and spiritual connection to nature.”
“For many people … it [the Eco-Spirit award] is more a way of acknowledging achievements over a number of years,” said John Elder, College Professor Emeritus and 2002 Eco-Spirit award recipient.
Elder presented Hoover with her award at SpIN’s annual meeting, which was held the Isley Public Library on Feb. 20.
In his speech, Elder noted Hoover’s “high spirits, humor and enthusiasm,” as well as passion for travel, which has taken her to many unique environments.
Though her love for New England is unwavering, Hoover’s two favorite destinations (thus far) are New Zealand and Iceland. She loves New Zealand especially for its commitment to the environment.
“It’s beautiful and it’s very environmentally conscious,” said Hoover. “The people are wonderful. Everything about it is … paradise.”
Hoover traveled to New Zealand with a birding group; she recalled that when the guide led others off the beaten track to go birding, “I’d just absorb.”
“Whether it’s canoeing or snowshoeing, she’s led a very adventurous life,” said Elder.
A native of New York City, Hoover attended Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she took a course about ecology that inspired many of her environmental efforts.  After graduating with a degree in Psychology, Hoover went to secretarial school in New York City. Here, she worked hard to bring her skills up to speed, as she admittedly hates New York in the summer. Hoover began work as a secretary at the Rockefeller Foundation before coming to Middlebury a few years later and working at the Breadloaf School of English for over a decade. She has also worked in various administrative positions for the College. Hoover retired in 1992.
“Compared to John [Elder] and Bill McKibben [2001 EcoSpirit award recipient] … I’m not in that league,” said Hoover.
Yet among those in attendance at SpIN’s annual meeting, Hoover had a broad group of supporters and admirers. In addition to family members, including her nephew and niece, many of Hoover’s friends came to see her receive the award.
Elder, who has known Hoover for many years and kept up with her environmental interests, describes her as “a person who puts herself out there and expresses in her actions what she believes.”
After receiving the award, Hoover expressed her gratitude to the group and read the Mary Oliver poem, “Song of the Builders.” She noted that she learned of the poem in a class taught by Elder, which she audited.
“Many people in this area are huge admirers of Anne,” said Elder. “What she represents is a life of authenticity, bravery and joy in what she does.”