Every year, Fairfax County recognizes individuals, organizations and businesses that advance the county's environmental goals or policies.
The 2018 Environmental Excellence Awards will be presented on Oct. 23, at 7 p.m., at a ceremony in the Fairfax County Government Center.
Awards will be presented to:
- Three individuals: Jennifer Cole and Betsy Martin and Paul Siegel
- One organization: Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts
- Three county employees: Sally Carter, Judy Fincham and Danielle Wynne
These are some of the highlights of accomplishments by this year's award recipients:
As the Executive Director of Clean Fairfax Council, Inc. (Clean Fairfax), she was cited for her leadership in the planning and production of the county’s annual Earth Day and Arbor Day celebration (SpringFest Fairfax), her coordination of dozens of community cleanup events each year, her leadership in Clean Fairfax’s administration of a grant program supporting environmental education programs, and additional outreach and mentorship efforts.
Since moving to the Mount Vernon District in 1994, they have provided leadership, advocacy and passion to environmental protection and enhancement within their community and beyond. They co-founded Friends of Little Hunting Creek, which has, since 2002, cleaned up trash through annual cleanup events in and along the creek. Since 2006, they have collected 3,597 bags of trash and recyclables, 270 tires, 176 shopping carts and tons of bulk trash. They have recruited over 1,500 cleanup volunteers.
The Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts (MORE), a nonprofit organization representing thousands of area mountain bikers that is committed to environmentally-sound and socially responsible mountain biking, provides extensive support to the Fairfax County Park Authority and NOVA Parks in designing, constructing and maintaining trails in an environmentally-sound manner. MORE members have constructed over 100 miles of new, sustainable trails in the region and have dedicated hundreds of volunteer hours to aid in keeping trails open and available for use; donated over $40,000 toward the replacement of an erosion-prone segment of the Bull Run-Occoquan Trail; and contributed over 3,500 hours of volunteer service work in Fairfax County.
A Youth Services Librarian at the Reston Regional Library, she is a passionate advocate for environmental stewardship and has taken a number of initiatives aimed at improving the library’s environmental efforts. In support of her goal to transform the library into a model of environmental stewardship, she compiled a comprehensive guideline for her colleagues on materials that can and cannot be recycled, adding a list of dedicated drop-off locations for items that should not be placed in county recycling bins and periodically writes and disseminates online a “Green Page” newsletter in an attempt to rally more enthusiasm among her colleagues for responsible environmental stewardship at the library.
They are on the front lines of the county’s outreach efforts, and their efforts to instill scientific understanding and appreciation of environmental concerns among county school students are exemplary. As county employees, they have initiated, facilitated and developed educational programs (through a partnership with Fairfax County Public Schools) that include: the Chesapeake Bay Grasses for the Masses program (in collaboration with the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences); the Citizen Scientist Floatable Monitoring Program; and educational trips on the Potomac River (in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation).
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