Placer Land Trust has named Auburn resident Sandy O’Blenness and Rocklin-based Foothill Associates as recipients of Volunteer of the Year awards.

Land Steward of the Year honors go to Auburn resident Gary Wells. Wells has donated significant hours to the trust over the past year, helping it manage and monitor its properties, a release from the organization stated.

For nearly five years, O’Blenness, the graphics specialist at Foothill Associates, has maintained and updated the trust’s Web site.

O’Blenness has also provided information technology trouble-shooting services and helped the trust produce outreach materials.

Foothill Associates began donating web and email hosting to the trust around 2001, which has saved the nonprofit organization thousands of dollars each year. Foothill Associates is an environmental consulting firm specializing in planning, landscape architecture and regulatory compliance.

The trust, in awarding the volunteer honor, also thanked Ken Whitney and Jorge Sanchez of Foothill Associates, and Newcastle resident Ann Ranlett, for their help with the trust Web site.

Wells’ initial work for the trust included removing beaver dams at Doty Ravine Preserve in rural Lincoln. As a local elementary school teacher, Wells had his science class gather acorns from the Auburn School Park Preserve last fall and return in January to plant them.

“Sandy and Gary are remarkable individuals who’ve helped us in our mission to preserve Placer County’s natural and agricultural lands,” said Jeff Darlington, the trust’s executive director.

– Gus Thomson