Virginian-Pilot

DATE: Sunday, March 9, 1997                 TAG: 9703090154

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MEREDITH COHN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   61 lines




ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL GIVES ECO-AWARDS TO FOLKS WITH CIVIC GREEN THUMBS

At about the same pace as developments went up in the city during the past year, trees were planted, litter was collected and environmental tourism was promoted, according to Chesapeake's green community.

To reward those who dug, gathered and educated, the Chesapeake Environmental Improvement Council - a City Council-appointed citizens' board - handed out the city's highest eco-honors in the form of plaques and work gloves Wednesday at its 15th annual awards luncheon.

Boy Scouts, elementary school students, Southeastern Public Service Authority and the military accepted awards in front of a crowd of local officials at the Holiday Inn in Chesapeake. Lloyd A. Culp Jr., manager of the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, earned the city's highest environmental honor, the Mayor's Outstanding Service Award, for his ``extraordinary efforts to increase citizen and policy maker awareness of the Great Dismal Swamp,'' according to local television personality Joe Flanagan, who emceed the ceremony. ``He devoted much time and energy in his determination to get the message out that the Great Dismal Swamp is a spectacular natural resource, as well as an area of high potential for tourism and economic benefit to the city of Chesapeake.''

``I'm shocked by this because obviously I get a lot of help from staff and volunteers,'' said Culp, a Chesapeake resident and refuge manager for nearly nine of the preserve's 23 years in existence. ``I feel a little out of place being recognized as an individual. I don't do anything by myself. I take this as a tremendous honor.''

Culp, who served the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Okefenokee Swamp, located in southeast Georgia and northeast Florida, before coming to Chesapeake, also was awarded the Outstanding Citizen Award.

Other awards included:

The Government Award, given to the Naval Security Group Activity Northwest for its recycling program at the installation on the North Carolina border. Begun in 1990, the program saved $20,140 in trash removal by recycling aluminum and tin cans, cardboard glass, newspaper, paper, plastics, scrap metal, oil filters and expended brass and shotgun shells from base firing ranges.

The Business & Industry Award, which went to East Coast Lawn and Garden, Maxwell Landscape Service and White's Old Mill Garden Center for landscaping areas through the city's Adopt-A-Neighborhood Garden Program.

The Youth Community Organization Award, given to members of Boy Scout Troop 320 for spending their summer vacation clearing old underbrush from an old cemetery in the Chesapeake Arboretum.

The Adult Community Organization Award, given to members of the Flag Road Civic League for cleaning up an area of their neighborhood known for trash and hazardous waste dumpings, illegal parking of tractor trailers and unlawful activities.

The Education Award, given to G.A. Treakle Elementary School, where students collected more than 5,000 aluminum cans in six weeks as part of the school's Earth Day celebration. Organized by teachers, students created artwork and crafts using recycled materials and learned about litter and landfills.

The Communications Award, which went to the Southeastern Public Service Authority for its environmental education program. From January to June in 1996, the SPSA provided just under half of Chesapeake schools with presentations about recycling, waste-to-energy and waste management.



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