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Environmental Achievement Award Winners 2010
This is the third year we have presented these competitive awards which highlight exemplary achievements in environmental excellence and pollution prevention. This year we honored 11 outstanding recipients. We also recognized the Mid-Atlantic Region's winner of the President's Environmental Youth Award for 2010.
The awards were presented at a special ceremony on April 13, at the National Constitution Center, Independence Mall. NBC10 news anchor Renee Chenault-Fattah, veteran of Philadelphia journalism and a champion for the environment, was the keynote speaker.
Joy Best is the winner of the President's Environmental Youth Award for 2010. Joy designed, coordinated and implemented the Environmental Awareness Festival. Joy, 17, is a high school junior, and was assisted by other youth, ages 9 to 15, and with advice from her adult sponsors. Her goal is to make positive changes in Philadelphia’s Feltonville community by teaching stewardship for the environment, and promoting family involvement.
The 2010 Environmental Achievement Award recipients are:
- Gregory Adolfson – West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (Charleston, W.Va.)
- Carroll Citizens for Sustainable Growth, (Carroll County, Pa.)
- Construction Specialties, Inc. (Muncy, Pa.)
- Green DMV (Washington, D.C.)
- Habitat for Humanity (New Castle County, Del.)
- Veronica B. Kasi, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (Harrisburg, Pa.)
- Maryland Port Administration (Baltimore, Md.)
- Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership (Philadelphia, Pa.)
- Transportation Security Administration (Arlington, Va.)
- Upper Merion Area School District (King of Prussia, Pa.)
- Virginia Beach City Public School District (Virginia Beach, Va.)
1. As the Sustainability Officer for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, Gregory Adolfson has been a proactive and tireless supporter of the EPA Mid-Atlantic Sustainability Partnership, seeking out collaborative opportunities between EPA and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
2. The Carroll Citizens for Sensible Growth, is a grass roots group who saw a problem and decided to do something about it. These average citizens have "taken charge" of their community organizing "trash cleanups" throughout Carroll County, and working with local authorities to make these events successful. Their well documented efforts and results are not only measurable but easily replicable. Overall, this citizens group has collected 129,633 tons of debris and recycled 75 tons of scrap metal.
3. Construction Specialties Inc., has a long and consistent record of environmental leadership at its Muncy Pennsylvania facility, seeing environmental protection as a "journey - not a destination." Since 1995, they have taken a "Compass Approach" to implement and achieve their long-range environmental vision and plan.
4. Green DMV is promoting green jobs in low-income communities as a pathway out of poverty. They are trying to help influence policy change in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area that will spur sustainable green jobs and ensure that the green economy is inclusive of all people.
5. Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County, Delaware, has been a vital and active partner in EPA's Brownfields Program and is providing needed environmental restoration that is helping to rebuild economically challenged communities. Habitat has made successful reuse of the sites and challenged itself to improve Delaware's environment while helping rebuild economically and socially challenged communities in Wilmington.
6. Veronica B. Kasi of the Department of Environmental Protection has tirelessly worked to promote sustainability at water and wastewater systems in the Pennsylvanaa, and has played a key role in programs which provide funding for drinking water and water quality needs. Her efforts will bring long-term benefits to public health and water quality in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
7. Over the past several years, while managing millions of cubic yards of “muck” taken from the bottom of the Harbor and Bay, the Maryland Port Administration has concurrently improved water quality, reduced air emissions, created wildlife habitat and become the largest creator of wetlands in Maryland.
8. Through collaboration with local residents and businesses, the Tookany/Tacony –Frankford Watershed Partnership has developed a coalition of watershed stakeholders to improve the health of the Tacony Creek and the lands surrounding it, reaching over 8,700 watershed stewards face-to-face, and assisted its partners in restoring over 13,000 linear feet of stream to native habitat.
9. The Transportation Security Administration or TSA has implemented Environmental Management Programs throughout their 39 Mid-Atlantic facilities. Accomplishments include recycling programs at nearly all of its mid-Atlantic facilities, increased the numbers of hybrid vehicles in its Mid-Atlantic fleet; and energy efficiency upgrades at TSA Headquarters.
10. The Upper Merion Area School District has been recognized as a 2010 ENERGY STAR Leader and for reducing its energy consumption and has demonstrated that it is possible to achieve very high energy efficiency by following the US EPA’s Energy Star model. Their recycling program has resulted in approximately 50% of its solid waste being recycled instead of going to the landfill.
11. The Virginia Beach City Public School District has taken a holistic approach to environmental sustainability and has implemented and established 3 primary environmental goals for Virginia Beach City Public Schools, They are: 1) to build green buildings ; 2) Integrate environmentally sustainable practices; and 3) educate the public.
