Jerry Hearn, a longtime local environmental leader and resident of Los Trancos Woods, was recognized April 25 as an "environmental hero" of California's 13th Senate District.

"The wonderful quality of life we enjoy here on the Peninsula is thanks to leaders like Jerry who worked so hard to protect our natural environment," said state Sen. Jerry Hill in presenting a certificate of recognition to Mr. Hearn on Saturday at the Konditorei coffee shop in Ladera.

Mr. Hearn was a leader in the founding of the San Mateo County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee. He is a founder of the San Francisquito Creek Watershed Council and was a leader in the merger of the Peninsula Conservation Center Foundation and Bay Area Action in 2000 to form the environmental nonprofit Acterra.

Mr. Hearn is also co-chair of the Searsville Advisory Group, which counsels Stanford University on the future of Searsville Dam. For more than 40 years, he was an instructor at Peninsula School in Menlo Park.

"What I love about Jerry is that he's a great example of Alex Haley's quote, 'Find the good and praise it,'" said Lennie Roberts, the legislative advocate for the Committee for Green Foothills. "He engages people in learning about our creeks and watersheds and how they can personally help protect and restore these critical ecosystems. His gentle and friendly advocacy results in people wanting to do the right thing."

Portola Valley Councilwoman Maryann Moise Derwin said she would be "hard pressed to find a person who has done more to protect the watershed than Jerry Hearn, and he's done it quietly for decades with intelligence, humility and grace."

Alex Von Feldt, a Portola Valley planning commissioner and the stewardship director for Acterra in Palo Alto, noted that Mr. Hearn "cares deeply about mentoring youth and providing meaningful opportunities for kids to get involved with their community. He brings people together from disparate backgrounds to work through problems and find a solution."