Nominations sought for second annual Whitewater Environmental Achievement Awards

Nominations sought for second annual Whitewater Environmental Achievement Awards
Released: February 2, 2009

A Whitewater coffeehouse that encourages recycling and allows customers to buy coffee and supplies in an environmentally responsible manner, along with a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater professor who does volunteer work in local watershed management, were winners of the first Whitewater Environmental Achievement Awards in 2008. The awards were so successful that they will be given out again this year.

Nominations are being sought for individuals, high schools or companies from Whitewater and the surrounding counties (Rock, Jefferson, Waukesha, Walworth, Racine and Kenosha) that have contributed to the achievement of environmental sustainability.

“We are, as a campus, committed to sustainability,” said K. Praveen Parboteeah, Environmental Achievement Award Committee chair and associate professor of management at UW-Whitewater. “We hope these awards show our commitment to sustainability and serve as an inspiration to others.”

New this year is the high school award. It will recognize a high school project that has significant environmental and educational impact. The award is open to projects led by the high school, an individual student or a high school class. Examples of projects include a campus project to reduce energy use, a class project to conduct neighborhood energy audits, or tire inflation checks for all students and staff members.

“We realize that to get students thinking about the environment and sustainability issues, we need to start early on in elementary school,” Parboteeah said. “This year we decided to start at the high school level because so many students already participate in projects like these at school.”

Award winners will be selected based on the originality, uniqueness and impact of their activities. Nominations should be submitted by Tuesday, March 31, 2009, to:

K. Praveen Parboteeah, Chair
Whitewater Environmental Achievement Award Committee
Department of Management
College of Business and Economics
UW-Whitewater
800 West Main Street
Whitewater, WI 53190
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone: 262-472-3971
Fax: 262-472-4863

Complete award information is available online at: www.uww.edu/earthday/awards.html

Second Annual Whitewater Environmental Achievement Award

Overview

The Whitewater community and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater are pleased to invite nominations for the Second Annual Whitewater Environmental Achievement Award. This award was created to recognize individuals, high schools and companies from Whitewater and the surrounding areas who have made especially noteworthy contributions to addressing important environmental issues.

We are now accepting nominations, with a deadline of March 31, 2009. Award finalists will be contacted in early April and recipients will be announced at UW-W's Earth Day Celebration, April 22, at UW-W's Hamilton Center.

The winners of the 2008 Whitewater Environmental Achievement Award were UW-W Professor Peter Jacobs (individual category) and the Greenhouse Cafe (company category).

Eligibility

Nominations will be accepted for three categories of award: 1) individual; 2) organization or corporation and 3) high schools. Nominees must be from either Whitewater or from surrounding counties (e.g. Rock, Jefferson, Waukesha, Walworth, Racine and Kenosha).

Nomination Process

Nominators (self-nominations will be accepted) should send an email or letter to:

K. Praveen Parboteeah, Chair
Whitewater Environmental Achievement Award Committee
Department of Management
College of Business and Economics
UW-Whitewater
800 West Main Street
Whitewater, WI 53190
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone: +262-472-3971
Fax: +262-472-4863

Information for Individual and Company awards:

The individual and company awards were created to recognize an individual and a company making significant contributions to address environmental and sustainability issues.

To be considered for the award, the following information must be provided:
1. Nominee name, address, telephone number and email address (if available).
2. Nominator name, address, telephone number and email address (if available).
3. A description, which need be no longer than one page, briefly summarizing how the nominee has contributed to the achievement of environmental sustainability.

Information for High School award:

For 2009, the award committee has created the high school award to recognize a high school project that has significant environmental and educational impact. The award is open to projects led by the high school, an individual student or a high school class. Examples of projects include a science fair project with significant or potentially significant environmental impact, a campus project to reduce energy usage (solar, etc), a class project to conduct neighborhood energy audits, or tire inflation checks for all students and staff.

To be considered for the award, the following information should be provided:
1. Name and address of high school
2. Nominator name, address, telephone number and email address (if available). If the nominator is a student, a faculty sponsor is required.
3. A description, which need be no longer than one page, briefly summarizing how the high school project has contributed to the achievement of environmental sustainability.

Award Selection and Prize

Award recipients will be selected based primarily upon the originality, uniqueness and impact of their activities. Nominators and/or nominees may be contacted for additional information. All winners will win a plaque and will be featured on plaques currently on display in the Whitewater City Hall and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater library.

Committee members:

K. Praveen Parboteeah (Chair, UW-W faculty member); Alvaro Taveira, Peter Jacobs (UW-W faculty members); Gina Castro and Patrick Broderick (UW-W students); Kristine Zaballos (Whitewater community member) and Kevin Brunner (Whitewater City Manager).