On a night that was all about celebrating the earth and all who cherish it, it was nature itself that set the stage at the Second Annual Commonwealth Environmental Leadership Awards on October 18, 2007.
The early Autumn sunset scene at King Family Vineyards was the perfect backdrop for an evening that honored some of our region’s true environmental conservation heroes as well as some of our most treasured artistic talents.
“This year we were proud to honor these extraordinary individuals, foundations and corporations for their outstanding contributions toward protecting and preserving the world in which we live,” said CWF Chair Sarah Tremaine. “These honorees have shown a remarkable commitment to conservation and preservation not only in their work but in their lives, and we hope that our saluting them in this fashion will further help to showcase them as shining examples for our entire community and beyond.
The unique awards ceremony highlighted the Charlottesville Waldorf Foundation’s belief in the connection between art, education and the environment. Once again this year, each award was custom-designed and created by an area artist for each individual recipient. “We feel that while engraved silver goblets and the like are nice, we have an opportunity to honor our recipients with an invaluable and lasting symbol of their efforts and of our deep appreciation for those efforts.”
The 2006 CELA honorees are:
Doug Lowe (Award for Individual: Walk the Walk)
Doug Lowe is a prime example of a professional who has walked the walk when it comes to conservation and preservation. As President of Artisan Construction, Inc, Doug is continually encouraging his clients to use environmentally sustainable practices in both commercial and residential building. And he should know. Doug built and lives in the first LEED-certified private residence east of the Mississippi, and regularly opens his home to the public to showcase how building green can produce buildings that are environmentally and economically sound as well as visually beautiful.
Nature Neutral (Award for Corporate Citizenship) Nature Neutral was founded to serve those interested in using environmentally preferable products to build, renovate or to complete projects as simple as painting a single room. Whether your concerns are as personal as chemical sensitivities or allergies or as global as a concern for the environment at large, Nature Neutral projects are designed to create healthier environments both inside and outside the places where we live and work. Simply put, their efforts make this area a better place to live, and their success is a testament to the fact that environmental responsibility can drive a successful business.
Polyface Farm (Award for Smart Agriculture) Joel Salatin and his family are not only one of our area’s most important resources when it comes to sustainable farming, they have taken their passion and expertise to people around the world. Joel and his family have been farming their 550-acre Swoope, Virginia farm since the 1960’s, learning over the course of time that it is imperative to go beyond organic standards to create true sustainability in local food systems. Polyface has been steadfast in its refusal to use pesticides, fertilizers or herbicides and is certified humane. Perhaps the most important element to their approach is in keeping their food within their “foodshed.” While the typical fruit or vegetable, organic or otherwise, will travel 1,500 miles before it is purchased, the Polyface approach is key in preserving energy and fossil fuel while maintaining the integrity of the relationship between the farmer and his or her customer.
H.H. Shugart, Ph.D. (Award for Green Educator) Chosen for his leadership as an educator, H. H. Shugart, Ph.D., is the W. W. Corcoran Professor of Environmental Sciences and the Director of the Global Environmental Change Program at the University of Virginia. He is currently developing and testing a dynamic global vegetation computer model that is capable of predicting global changes and is considered a major international atmospheric research project. He is renowned internationally for his studies of forest ecosystems and is a leading authority in the development of predictive models of changing global environments. He is also a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Through his work with the Center for Regional Environmental Studies at the University of Virginia, Shugart is part of a team that provides students at the undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral levels with opportunities to work in the area of global environmental change. Shugart and his students investigate global change issues on a regional scale from social and environmental perspectives in order to better inform international policy and development.
Qroe Farm (Award for Land Use and Development) At a time when development threatens so much of Albemarle County’s treasured landscape, Qroe Farm has proven that environmentally-conscious development is not only possible, but now right here in our own backyard. The company, founded by Robert H. Baldwin in 1981, is behind the 2,300-acre Bundoran Farm, located 15 miles southwest of Charlottesville. They will create a unique community of residences and farming activity where sustainability, land preservation and “Qroelling,” the process of incrementally preserving additional abutting lands, are implemented in cooperation with the local community and internationally-recognized organizations. Zoned for as many as 163 lots, Bundoran Farm will include only 88. All lots will be locked into easements, and development on each will be limited to preserve remaining land for cattle farming and other bucolic activities.
Katie Swenson (Award for Painting Toward Architecture) Katie Swenson is Director and Founder of the Charlottesville Community Design Center (CCDC) and Director of the Enterprise Foundation's Frederick P. Rose Architectural Fellowship program. CCDC brings together citizens and design resources to create equitable, sustainable and beautiful communities. CCDC has served as a catalyst for the Charlottesville community through education, advocacy and partnerships to increase awareness and opportunities in energy efficiency, sustainable design, affordable housing and community input in design and development. The Rose Fellowship seeks to transform neighborhoods by nurturing a new generation of public interest architects committed to community involvement and holistic, sustainable design. Ms. Swenson served as a Rose Fellow from 2001to 2004 with the Piedmont Housing Alliance in Charlottesville, VA, where she worked as designer, planner, construction manager, grant writer, community development liaison and green building expert. During her fellowship, Ms. Swenson helped to develop 30 properties for first-time homeowners using the first Energy Star homes in Charlottesville, and also led the development of a new 3,000 square foot community center that serves the needs of inner city low-income people. A widely published author and lecturer, Ms. Swenson received a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley.
Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. (Award for Commercial Building) WSSI’s new corporate headquarters in Gainesville, Virginia reflects the corporation’s commitment to doing the right thing for the environment. Through its consulting related to wetlands, WSSI has created the first privately developed wetland bank in Virginia and the largest wetland bank in the state. To date, WSSI has created and restored wetlands encompassing more than 800 cumulative acres. Additionally, WSSI is in the process of developing Virginia’s first stream mitigation bank. Upon completion, the bank will restore approximately 29 miles of streams in Northern Virginia. As a corporation, WSSI has taken its dedication to the environment and expanded it to its new corporate headquarters, which was the first Gold LEED-certified building in the Commonwealth. The green features of WSSi’s headquarters are innumerable. Daylight is provided to 80% of the building’s regularly-occupied spaces, low flow fixtures are used in bathrooms, a cistern collects rainwater, no CVCs are used in the heating and cooling system, and building materials were purchased from regional manufacturers.
The 2006 CELA artists are:
Cynthia Burke Cynthia Burke has been interpreting the natural world in her paintings for many years. Her lush oils of birds and animals often have a Medieval feel to them, suffused with opulent fabrics, colors and patterns. They have the appearance of formal portraits but surprises are revealed on closer inspection. She says “I pass the Greenest School in America building site every morning on my way to the studio. It gives me great pleasure to be able to contribute in this small way. The project is not only a great example to the surrounding community but will surely influence the environmental attitudes of the many students who will attend it.”
Michael Fitts Charlottesville-based artist Michael Fitts has been using oil paint on reclaimed scrap metal for ten years. He has shown in New York, Washington D.C., Bethesda, Maryland, Richmond, and Charlottesville, Virginia. He is an associate member of the McGuffey Art Center in Charlottesville and is represented in the Washington D.C. metro area by the Fraser Gallery in Bethesda. His paintings can be seen online at www.mfitts-art.blogspot.com and he is currently exhibiting pieces at the Mudhouse on the Downtown mall in Charlottesville.
NiNi Baeckstrom NiNi Baeckstrom grew up in Sweden where nature and silence were part of her everyday life. Her family took pride in their craft skills and passed on the passion to work with their hands. Baeckstrom is interested in forms that express a specific sentiment, using the character of the material to push the expression further. She currently works with cement, mosaic and bronze.
Linda Wachtmeister Over the past thirty Linda Wachtmeister has been making shelters in many forms. Whether it is a rib cage shield, blinders masking eyes, or a more typical house/cave form, all of Wachtmeister’s images convey the feeling of being sheltered. The shelter can play the dual role of either giving protection for hiding or confronting. Wachtmeister sees a link between her work and the Charlottesille Waldorf School, knowing that as she dropped her young children off at the school each morning, they were entering a wonderful shelter of creative love and learning.
Jeanne Drevas Jeanne Drevas works with natural materials she gleans from the forest and fields in Rappahannock County, Virginia. She feels a connection to the natural rhythms of growth and decay and rebirth and death through the time she spends collecting and creating with grasses, bark and seeds. She currently lives in her handmade house, a thirty year installation of her making.
Robin Braun “In my paintings, I try to portray both the storm and the tranquility of the calm after the storm,” Braun said. “This aspect of nature is both beautiful and terrifying. I hope that my paintings can convey some of the violence and stillness; beauty and spectacle. I feel strongly that nature is being tested and pushed too far by people and pollution. A project such as the Greenest School sets an example for a whole new generation, the people who will be most affected by what my generation is doing now to the environment.”
