Isabel Ortega with MBCA President Steve Bardwell and

Board member Sarah Kennington 

MBCA's 2019 Ruth Denison Environmental Conservation Scholarship has been awarded to Isabel Ortega, graduating senior at Yucca Valley High School. The $500 scholarship is available through a generous bequest from Ruth Denison, a long-time supporter of the association.  

Isabel joins prior winners Nicole Serrano (2017) and Morgan Novak (2018), also Yucca Valley High School graduates. 

                                                      

Ruth Denison was the first Buddhist teacher in the United States to lead an all-women's retreat for Buddhist meditation and instruction.  Her center, Dhamma Dena Desert Vipassana Center, is located in Joshua Tree, California.  This bequest fulfills one of MBCA's longstanding goals to increase the organization's support of environmental education for local students who plan to attend a university or college and prepare for employment in careers related to environmental or conservation work.  You can learn more about her from this Hi Desert Star article written shortly after her death in 2015 or from this Ruth Denison Wikipedia page.