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Neighbor News

Are You Our Next Environmental Volunteer Awardee?

By County Executive Ed Day

Rockland County is a beautiful place that my administration, on top of protecting our people, is always striving to do more to preserve our environment and guide Rockland towards a greener future.

This County is proudly ranked #15 of all local governments nationwide by the Environmental Protection Agency for utilizing 100% U.S. generated wind electricity.

My administration also just launched Rockland’s Sustainability Project. Under this initiative almost two dozen departments are working together on generating a long-term plan to improve the County’s rankings in the New York State Climate Smart Communities and Clean Energy Communities programs. The more milestones we achieve in these programs the more grant funding we are eligible for, ultimately opening the door for more green investments without impacting the wallets of local taxpayers.

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We also purchased 3 more properties under our Open Space Acquisition Program, saving 26 acres from development.

But protecting the beauty of Rockland cannot be accomplished by this administration alone. It comes down to our residents also doing their part. One of the most inspiring things about this County is the vast number of residents going above and beyond to do just that.

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And every year we try to find one of those environmental heroes and honor them for their prestigious efforts with the County Executive's Outstanding Environmental Volunteer Award. This award recognizes exceptional volunteers who care for our parks, champion our watershed programs, encourage recycling and work every day to enhance the natural beauty of our county's open spaces.

As we approach the 26th annual Rockland County Outstanding Environmental Volunteer Award celebration, my administration and the Division of Environmental Resources are now accepting nominations.

To be eligible to receive the award an individual must be at least 18 years of age and a Rockland County resident. Individuals who have been nominated in the past, but not chosen, are eligible to be re-nominated.

County Executive Day will honor this year’s winner during a tree dedication ceremony at Kennedy Dells Park on Wednesday, October 4th, at 11 am.

To reduce waste, nominations are no longer submitted by paper document; instead, an e-survey nomination form may be submitted via this link: Nomination Form

For more information, please contact the Division of Environmental Resources at 845-364-2670 or via email at rosamilb@co.rockland.ny.us. To be considered, nominations must be received by 5 PM, Friday, August 25th, 2023.

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