2017 Cooperator of the Year: The Northern Virginia Rain Barrel Partnership

The 2017 Diane Hoffman Cooperator of the Year Award goes to the Northern Virginia Rain Barrel Partnership, which includes representatives from Arlington County, Fairfax County, Reston Association, Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment, and the Cities of Fairfax, Alexandria, and Falls Church, together with the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District. Learn more about the Northern Virginia Rain Barrel Program.

Diane Hoffman, for whom the Cooperator of the Year Award is named, is a current NVSWCD Associate Director and retired as the NVSWCD's District Administrator in 2012. The Cooperator of the Year Award is named in her honor, for the legacy of cooperative spirit she instilled throughout all NVSWCD programs.

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The Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District annually recognizes individuals or groups who work in partnership with the district to protect and conserve natural resources in Fairfax County. Other recent honorees include:

Mike McCaffrey of Hidden Pond Nature Center was honored as the 2015 Cooperator of the Year. He has been a stalwart partner and ambassador for NVSWCD’s programs, resources and expertise. Of special note is Hidden Pond's participation in the Envirothon program, where hard work has paid off with state championships and participation in two of the last three international competitions. 

The 2015 Clean Water Farm Award was presented to Eydie and Paul Blanchard, who own and operate Three Star Farm, LLC, a five-acre farm in Clifton, VA, which is home to four horses, 40 chickens, and 11 African Pygmy goats. Clean water practices include a four-cell composting facility sized to manage up to 30 cubic yards of farm waste, as well as good nutrient management, erosion control and integrated pest management practices.

Peter Mecca, biology and ecology teacher at George Mason High School in Falls Church, received the Conservation Education Teacher of the Year Award from the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts. He partnered with NVSWCD on a groundbreaking study to determine the effectiveness of using daikon radishes and compost to relieve urban soil compaction. He also fomented programs including Trout in the Classroom, E. coli and biological monitoring in streams, a Stormwater Sentries computer game, invasive species removal on the Appalachian Trail and more.

The Friends of Accotink Creek were named the Cooperator of the Year in recognition of their partnership on the Wakefield Run project, promoting and taking on the stream naming, coordinating stream cleanups, native plant rescues and planting, invasive plant removal volunteer days, and using many tools to engage the Accotink Creek watershed community in water quality protection.

The Fairfax Master Naturalists is a cadre of volunteers that has been growing since 2007. Their naturalists are trained in the field and classroom and have contributed countless volunteer hours to environmental projects. Fairfax Master Naturalists have partnered, volunteered and taken a leadership role with a number of prominent environmental programs with the Soil and Water Conservation District, including as Watershed-Friendly Garden Tour hosts, organizational judges for the Fairfax County Science and Technology Fair, long-term biological stream monitors, and volunteer storm drain labeling project leaders.

• Northern Virginia Rain Barrel Partnership, 2017 Cooperator of the Year
• 2016: Brion's Grille, Cooperator of the Year; Potomac Vegetable Farms, Clean Water Farm
• 2015: Mike McCaffrey, Cooperator of the Year; Blanchard's Three Star Farm, LLC, Clean Water Farm; Peter Mecca, Conservation Teacher of the Year
• Matt Meyers, 2014 Cooperator of the Year
• Friends of Accotink Creek, 2013 Cooperator of the Year
• Charles Smith, 2012 Cooperator of the Year; Chuck Craft, Special Appreciation Award
• Fairfax Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists, 2011 Cooperator of the Year
• B.J. Sistani, Code Analysis, DPWES, 2010 Cooperator of the Year
• Angler Environmental, 2009 Cooperator of the Year
• Jim McGlone, 2008 Cooperator of the Year
• Fairfax County Public Schools - Maintenance Division, 2007 Cooperator of the Year
• Resource Management Division, FCPA, 2006 Cooperator of the Year
• Maintenance and Stormwater Management, 2005 Cooperator of the Year
• Jeanette Stewart, 2004 Cooperator of the Year
• Diana Handy, 2003 Cooperator of the Year
• Laura Grape, 2002 Cooperator of the Year
• Steve Aitcheson, 2001 Cooperator of the Year
• Norma Hoffman, 2000 Cooperator of the Year
• DPWES Utilities Planning and Design, 1999 Cooperator of the Year
• Judy Okay, 1998 Cooperator of the Year
• Sherry Penney, 1997 Cooperator of the Year
• Friends of Sugarland Run, 1996 Cooperator of the Year
• Walter Hamilton, 1995 Cooperator of the Year
• Shep Oliver, 1994 Cooperator of the Year
• Supervisor Gerry Hyland, 1993 Cooperator of the Year
• Cindy Zimar; James Frazier, 1992 Cooperator of the Year
• Mrs. Hiu Newcomb, 1991 Cooperator of the Year
• Bernie Parsons, 1990 Cooperator of the Year
• Lake Barcroft Watershed Improvement District, 1989 Cooperator of the Year
• Union Camp Corporation, 1988 Cooperator of the Year
• Bill Sheads, 1987 Cooperator of the Year
• Mike Wagner, 1986 Cooperator of the Year
• Col Spalding, 1985 Cooperator of the Year
• John Koenig, 1984 Cooperator of the Year
• Joe Flakne, 1983 Cooperator of the Year
• Arlington-Fairfax Chapter of the Izaak Walton League, 1982 Cooperator of the Year
• Col. Bill Smith, 1981 Cooperator of the Year
• Shouse Homeowners Association, 1980 Cooperator of the Year