Dominion, Biodiversity Alliance Seeking Entries for 2008 Northeast Ohio Environmental Awards

April 21, 2008

Biodiversity Alliance, a partnership for global conservation, and Dominion are now accepting applications for the second annual Northeast Ohio Environmental Awards, a program recognizing excellence in advancing regional environmental quality. Biodiversity Alliance is a collaboration among the Cleveland Botanical Garden, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo/Cleveland Zoological Society, The Cleveland Museum of Natural History and The Holden Arboretum. The Dominion Foundation funds the awards. All nominations must be received no later than midnight, Saturday, June 28, 2008.

The program recognizes outstanding achievements of organizations, businesses and individuals in a wide variety of environmental initiatives throughout the region. The awards also honor those that have demonstrated a commitment to environmental excellence, leadership and accomplishment in their respective fields. The program will present awards recognizing activities or initiatives that were in place in 2007 in the following categories:

  • Community
  • Higher Education
  • Primary/Secondary Education
  • Business

Winners in each category will receive a $2,500 cash award and a plaque.  A panel of independent judges will evaluate all entries.

"The Northeast Ohio Environmental Awards are important to the sustainability of our region," said Cathi Lehn, Ph.D., conservation program coordinator of Biodiversity Alliance. "There are many exceptional programs in Northeast Ohio.  However, we find that individuals involved in these programs are so busy doing their good work that they often forget to tell others about their efforts.  These awards will help promote successful environmental programs and encourage others to get involved and make a difference."

The Northeast Ohio Environmental Awards are open to any group, program, organization, business or individual located and working in the following counties: Allen, Ashland, Ashtabula, Auglaize, Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Guernsey, Hardin, Holmes, Knox, Lake, Mahoning, Medina, Mercer, Monroe, Muskingum, Noble, Paulding, Portage, Putnam, Shelby, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Tuscarawas, Van Wert, Washington and Wayne.

Winners of the 2007 Northeast Ohio Environmental Awards in their respective categories were:

The Wetlands Education Team at West Geauga Middle School, Chesterland, and the Master Gardeners of Van Wert County, each received honorable mentions in 2007.

Participants can send nomination materials electronically to bioalliance@cmnh.org. If unable to send electronically, entrants can mail completed nomination materials to:

Biodiversity Alliance
11030 East Boulevard
Cleveland, Ohio  44106

Prospective entrants can find nomination materials and applications on the following Web sites:

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 26,500 megawatts of generation.  Dominion serves retail energy customers in 11 states.  For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.

 

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CONTACTS:  
   
Dominion:

Neil Durbin, (216) 736-6239 or 1-800-556-4400

   
Biodiversity Alliance: Cathi Lehn, (216) 707-2826