The Sonoma County Conservation Council (SCCC): Here is a chance to pay homage to the Sonoma County environmentalists and environmental programs whose work you most respect. Being nominated is an honor as well as an opportunity for a specific group or issue to receive broader attention. Last year 15 nominations were submitted. Awards were bestowed on John Herrick of the Milo Baker Chapter of the CA Native Plant Society, Jessica Jones of Students for Sustainable Communities and the Conservation Corps North Bay.
Nominations may be submitted via the SCCC website. Click on the words “2012 nominations“. Please provide nominee contact information plus a paragraph or two on why this person or program deserves to be honored. Visit the award history pages to view previous awardees and nomination statements. Editors are available if you need assistance paring your reasons down to a paragraph or two. The deadline is February 6, 2012 at midnight. Questions are welcome: awards@envirocentersoco.org.
Awards and honors will be bestowed on Saturday, March 3 2012 at the 36th Annual Sonoma County Environmental Awards Dinner at the Sebastopol Veterans Auditorium. The evening’s theme is Building Healthy, Just and Sustainable Communities – In The Face Of Climate Change. The guest speaker is Paloma Pavel, PhD. President of Earth House Center in Oakland and Executive Director of Breakthrough Communities and editor of Breakthrough Communities: Sustainability and Justice in the Next American Metropolis published in 2009.
Recent Awardees:
Sonoma County Environmentalist of the Year
2011 John Herrick, Milo Baker Chapter of the CA Native Plant Society
2010 Jane Nielson, PhD, Sonoma County Water Coalition
2009 David Keller, Friends of the Eel River
Ernestine I. Smith Lifetime Environmental Commitment Award
2009 Betty Guggolz, California Native Plant Society and Betty Burridge, Madrone Audubon Society and Redwood Region Ornithological Society
2008 Brenda Adelman, Chair, Russian River Watershed Protection Committee
2007 Bernie Album, Petaluma Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee, Sonoma County Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition
Outstanding Environmental Educator/Project/Program
2011 Conservation Corps North Bay
2010 daily acts, Trathen Heckman
2009 Cotati Creek Critters, Jenny Blaker and Wade Belew, and
Pachamama Alliance, Awakening The Dreamer, Changing The Dream
Sonoma County Young Environmentalist
2011 Jessica Jones, Vice President of Santa Rosa Junior College Campus, Students for Sustainable Communities, Associated Students Sustainability Committee and SWS Sustainable Committee
Background: A federation of 17 non-profits, the SCCC operates the Environmental Center in Santa Rosa and collaborates with many local groups on a wide variety of issues and projects. The Center has three functions: It supports the work of member organizations, serves as an information and referral service and provides opportunity for ad hoc groupings to work on specific issues. Member groups and guests use it as their home base, and/or as a place for presenting programs, having meetings, preparing mailings or other work sessions. Most of this activity is open to the public directly, or through enrollment in one of the member organizations.