Honoring Richard Nelson: The Listening Place Bench

In 2020, Sitka Conservation Society honored the life of Richard Nelson with a yellow cedar bench installed by Thimbleberry Lake, one of Nels’ favorite spots to connect with the Tongass National Forest. This involved milling a fallen yellow cedar tree over the ridge from the lake, hiring local carpenter Zach LaPerriere to craft the bench, and the Sitka Conservation Corps preparing and fixing up the site and trail for the bench. This project happened because of SCS’s Living Wilderness Fund, an endowment for the Tongass, and the donors who made gifts to the Fund in honor of Nels.
If you are interested in giving to the Fund, you can donate on our website here or reach out to us at 9077477509: www.sitkawild....
Video edited by Kate Guiney with Ryan Morse. Footage from Kate Guiney, Amy Li, Lione Clare, and Andrew Thoms. Special audio courtesy of Encounters North.