Green Awards
The Ecology Action Center annually presents the annual McLean County Green Awards in order to recognize significant local efforts to improve our environment. The 2019 award recipients were named at the EAC’s annual fall event, the Sustainable Gourmet on November 14.
The McLean County Recycling and Waste Reduction Award identifies businesses, schools or organizations with outstanding recycling programs or waste reduction efforts or individuals who have played a role in a successful program or effort. The 2019 award was presented to a group of volunteers who coordinate local collections of “Terracycle”, a nontraditional recycling program that recycles a wide range of diverse items including snack chip bags, drink pouches, water filters, and beauty product packaging. Amie Keeton, Janet Guaderrama, Macia Nagy, Melanie Ziomek, organize Terracyle collections through a 24 hour drop-off site in partnership with St. Luke Union Church in Bloomington. Over the past several years they have helped divert over 100,000 items from the landfill through their efforts. More information on Terracycle programs in Bloomington-Normal is available on the EAC website.
The Anne McGowan Making a World of Difference Award recognizes outstanding projects, activities, or individuals in McLean County who promote environmental awareness or natural resource conservation. The EAC dedicated the World of Difference Award in memory of McGowan, an early director of the EAC, due to her ability to inspire and motivate others to take action. Henry Brockman is a local organic produce farmer in the Congerville area who provides vegetables to hundreds of Central Illinois residents each year through CSA (community supported agriculture ) subscriptions. He is a leader local food in central Illinois as he adopts new strategies on an ongoing basis to better protect our local environment, saying “the goal of everything I do in my fields is to give life to the soil and the entire ecosystem”. He plants over 650 varieties of vegetables each year, experimenting with new types and improving his practices to adapt to a changing climate. Learn more about the Brockman family farm.
Past recipients of the McLean County Green Awards are listed on the Ecology Action Center website.
The mission of the Ecology Action Center is to inspire and assist our community in creating, strengthening, and preserving a healthy environment. The EAC acts as a central resource for environmental education, information, outreach, and technical assistance in McLean County.
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