It was four decades ago when Kathy Gregg discovered Sierra Club. "My eyes were opened," she says, "to the importance of the environment. Working to protect Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness, I realized a tremendous sense of empowerment — that hikers really could save wild places."

And it was at West Virginia Wesleyan College where Kathy met her environmental match — Carl Colson, who would become her husband. "We were two biology professors working in a small department," Carl says. "We'd go on collecting trips together. She'd help me collect fish. I'd help her monitor orchids."

Carl supported Kathy in her continuing activism and dedication to Sierra Club. In addition to helping win environmental victories, Kathy was instrumental in creating the West Virginia Chapter. This chapter went on to stop a big strip-mall project and protect large swaths of the Monongahela National Forest and the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

"I take students to Canaan Valley and tell them, 'This area is saved because of ordinary citizens like me,'" she says.

With her commitment, Kathy has taken on regional and national roles in Sierra Club. But her love for nature doesn't stop there.

She and Carl have included Sierra Club in their wills. Their gifts will support the study and protection of the wilderness that they've dedicated their lives to in West Virginia.

"Our main focus," Carl says, "is getting students involved. We can provide study opportunities and the promise that the places they visit will be protected."

Their gifts are a fitting legacy for two educators who love nature so much that they take steps to protect it, now and for generations to come.

You can join Kathy and Carl in defending everyone’s right to a healthy world, today and well into the future. Contact our team at (800) 932-4270 or giftplanning@sierraclub.org to learn more.