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Today, the Fairfax County Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination (OEEC) announced the recipients of the 2024 Environmental Excellence Awards.
Since 2000, Fairfax County has issued the Environmental Excellence Awards to recognize county residents, county employees, businesses and organizations who demonstrate extraordinary leadership within the community and exceptional dedication to the preservation and enhancement of the county’s natural resources. The awards are administered by the Environmental Quality Advisory Council with support from OEEC.
This year’s winners include a Dark Sky advocate who promotes efforts to reduce light pollution, a high school senior who started her own nonprofit organization to train other youth climate champions, three county employees working on waste reduction and plastic pollution initiatives, and a community association dedicated to preserving natural habitats for its residents.
“Fairfax County is fortunate to have climate champions working in our community, and we are proud of this year’s winners for finding innovative and practical ways to promote a healthy, vibrant, and sustainable community,” said Braddock District Supervisor James R. Walkinshaw, Chair of the Board’s Environmental Committee. “This year’s winners show us that efforts in any capacity can help better our environment.”
The 2024 Environmental Excellence Awardees are:
Individual County Resident Category
Eileen Kragie, founder, Dark Sky Friends. Eileen has done frequent light pollution education, outreach, and event support, including launching the DarkSky NOVA chapter and supporting Space Day at George Mason University. She has been active in changing local lighting legislation and was successful in getting Virginia to designate the first week in April as Dark Sky Week. Eileen also coordinated the first ever FireFly and BatFest events at Wolf Trap.
Arielle Kouyoumdjian, a youth climate activist and senior at the Potomac School. Arielle established a non-profit organization called Changing Planet Justice Foundation, whose mission is to empower youth to speak out, share their stories, and inspire action within their communities and beyond. As executive director, she hosts a monthly podcast and has developed tool kits and activity options for youth between the ages of 5 and 18 to help them become effective advocates for sustainability and climate justice.
County Employee Category
Kirsten Buchner, public outreach and engagement specialist, Department of Public Works and Environmental Services. Kirsten developed and implemented a bus shelter advertising program for the Solid Waste Management Program that focused on reaching minority populations. The advertising campaign was centered on the Richmond Highway Corridor and generated 1.7 million weekly impressions.
Caroline Hockenberry, coordinator, and Elizabeth (Liza) Moore, marketing and outreach coordinator, Fairfax County Park Authority Farmers Markets. Caroline and Liza have partnered with Clean Fairfax to eliminate single-use plastic bags from the county’s farmers markets. Caroline and Liza have also enhanced the sustainability of the markets by promoting the drop-off compost collection program, which last year collected 120,000 pounds of customer drop-off food scraps for compost.
Organization and Business Category
Hickory Farms Community Association, Braddock District. The association has been active in preserving and enhancing more than 10 acres of wooded, riparian habitat along Rabbit Run, as well as more than 10 acres of urban open space within the community. The association has carried out a program of Resource Protection Area protection and stream remediation. In addition, the association installed an 18-unit Purple Martin colony and established a Bluebird trail consisting of ten boxes which has yielded a significant number of Bluebird fledglings.
The awards will be presented at a ceremony in 2025.
For more information, including a list of past winners, please visit the Environmental Excellence Awards webpage.
The application period for the Charge Up Fairfax program has been extended to November 17, 2024.
Charge Up Fairfax helps community associations —including HOAs, condominiums, clusters, and co-ops —install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations by providing both technical assistance and financial support.
Up to 8 community associations will be accepted into the program during this new application period which ends midnight on November 17. To learn more and submit an application, visit the Charge Up Fairfax webpage.
Fairfax County has been honored with the Virginia Energy Efficiency Council’s 2024 Leadership Award for a project at the Pender Office Building that combined energy improvements with solar.
From left to right: OEEC's director John Morrill, division director Kevin Smith, energy analyst Chandler Crumlin and HCD's facilities manager, Kwok Sun
The award was presented on Oct. 3 at an Energy Efficiency Forum at the University of Richmond Jepson Alumni Center. The county’s Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination (OEEC), the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA) were recognized in the Government category for the project, which included energy efficiency upgrades and a rooftop solar installation. Fairfax County was recognized in the same category in 2023 for energy projects at two Rec centers.
Constructed in 1986, the three-story, 49,000-square-foot Pender Office Building serves as FCRHA's headquarters. After an extensive energy audit of the building, a variety of energy improvements, including LED lighting upgrades, new electric transformers and air handling units, weatherization treatments, improvements to building automation system, and a new rooftop solar photovoltaic array were made to the building.
The energy upgrades were accomplished through a performance contract with CMTA, an engineering consultant and energy services company.
“Partnering with OEEC and CMTA to enhance the energy efficiency of our building not only helps us reduce operating costs but supports a healthier environment for our community.” said Amy Ginger, Deputy Director, Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development.
Since December 2023 when the project was completed, Pender has realized a 41% reduction in energy consumption— far exceeding the energy savings guarantee. The building is also on track to see nearly $44,000 in total utility costs avoidance because of these improvements.
“Pender was the first project in Fairfax County’s energy performance program to bundle holistic energy efficiency upgrades with solar, but it is not the last,” said OEEC Director John Morrill. “We are applying this model for deep energy savings in other facilities now.”
These projects support the county’s Operational Energy Strategy (OES), which aims to reduce overall energy use in county operations, buildings and fleet vehicles while increasing the use of clean ‘and renewable forms of energy. The county’s OES has a goal of carbon neutrality by 2040.
About Virginia Energy Efficiency Council (VAEEC)
The Virginia Energy Efficiency Council, a member-based 501c3, launched the Energizing Efficiency Campaign in 2023 to further the mission of advancing EE across the state by showcasing remarkable work being done in our communities and inspiring others to act. Learn more at VAEEC.org/Energizing-Efficiency-Campaign. VAEEC has presented the Virginia Energy Efficiency Leadership Awards since 2016.
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