Today
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday honored four Connecticut residents and two agencies for their long-time commitment to environmental sustainability.
At the ceremony in Boston, Richard Harris and Peter Fraboni won the Lifetime Achievement Environmental Merit Award. Harris, the director of Westport museum Earthplace, and Fraboni, the assistant director, have cleaned local tributaries, organized Earth Day events, conducted studies into area waterlife and educated the public on local water resources.
Leslie Mehroff of Willington received the Lifetime Achievement Environmental Merit Award posthumously for his extensive work as a botanist. He worked at the state Department of Environmental Protection and was the manager of the Torrey Herbarium at the University of Connecticut.
Dr. Mark Mitchell, founder and president of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice, won the Lifetime Achievement Environmental Merit Award. A former director of the Hartford Health Department, Mitchell advocates for the public health, particularly in reducing air pollution.
Two Connecticut agencies won the Environmental Merit Award: the Green Village Initiative in Westport and the North Haven Citizens’ Advisory Panel.
The Green Village Initiative is a volunteer organization that focuses on projects with the best chance of success, such as the development of a historic farm, the creation of a garden at Westport High School and the rehabilitation of the Sherwood Mill Pond preserve.
The North Haven Citizens’ Advisory Panel advocates for the clean-up of contamination of a former Pharmacia & Upjohn Co. site, and works to keep the community involved and informed on the matter.
From: http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/news18424.html
