PICKENS COUNTY — The State of South Carolina is seeking nominations for an award to recognize individuals who are doing extraordinary work for the natural environment. Nominations will be accepted through Feb. 28, 2019.
The S.C. Environmental Awareness, now in its 26th year, was established by S.C. General Assembly during the 1992 legislative session to recognize outstanding contributions made toward the protection, conservation and improvement of South Carolina’s natural resources.
Each year the public is invited to submit nominations that are then reviewed by an awards committee. In judging nominees, the committee considers excellence in innovation, leadership, and accomplishments that influence positive changes affecting the natural environment.
Members of the awards committee represent the S.C. Forestry Commission, S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, S.C. Department of Natural Resources and the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium.
The instructions and application form needed to nominate someone for the award can be found on the S.C. Seagrant Consortium website, www.seagrant.org.
The 2016 Environmental Awareness Award winner, Sean Poppy, was honored for his passionate work in environmental education and natural history interpretation for more than 18 years in South Carolina. Mr. Poppy serves as the Outreach Educator for the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory.
Previous winners of the Environmental Awareness Award include:
2016 – Sean Poppy, Outreach Educator, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
2015 – Mark Madden, Environmental Educator, Charleston County PRC
2014 – George W. McDaniel, Ph.D., Director of Drayton Hall Plantation
2013 – Joseph R. Hamilton, Founder of the Quality Deer Management Association
2012 – Thomas Kester, Chairman and Treasurer for the Conestee Foundation
2011 – Dr. Patricia J. DeCoursey, Professor of Biological Sciences at USC
2010 – Frank S. Holleman, III, President, Naturaland Trust
2009 – Dr. Fred Holland, Coastal Ecologist, Charleston
2008 – Benjamin Ziegler, Chairman, Pee Dee Land Trust
2007 – Dr. Richard Porcher, Jr., Professor Emeritus, The Citadel
2006 – Rick Huffman, Founder, South Carolina Native Plant Society
2004 – John L. Knott, Jr., President, Noisette Company, North Charleston
2003 – Burris Family, Owners, Cypress Bay Plantation Tree Farm, Beaufort
2002 – Dr. Jack Turner, Director, Watershed Ecology Center, Univ. of South Carolina
2001 – James D. Elliott, Jr., Founder, South Carolina Center for Birds of Prey
2000 – Dr. Dave Hargett, Conservationist, Greenville
1999 – Kenneth Strickland, Environmentalist, Florence
1998 – Yancey A. McLeod, Jr., Environmental Educator, Eastover
1997 – Brad Wyche, President, Friends of the Reedy River, Greenville
1996 – Beaufort County Clean Water Task Force
1995 – Dr. Whitfield Gibbons, Senior Research Ecologist, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
1994 – Marion Burnside, Chairman, S.C. Department of Natural Resources
1993 – Dana Beach, Executive Director, SC Coastal Conservation League
1992 – Rudy Mancke, Naturalist, SC Educational Television
