Announcing the EcoGuardian Awards Recipients

This year, RES launched the EcoGuardian Awards program to celebrate Earth Day. Inspired by our employees’ passion for environmental causes, these awards support nonprofits that are doing great work for the Earth, and that RES employees support through their personal volunteer work. 

Employees were invited to nominate the groups they support. In total, 41 organizations were nominated, a testament to our team members’ commitment to supporting and positively impacting their communities. Awards were granted across the U.S., and RES leadership selected one organization from those regional grants to receive an additional donation. RES selected The Prairie Enthusiasts for this additional award. In total, RES awarded $50,000 to these inspiring organizations.

Nathan Gingerich nominated The Prairie Enthusiasts, an organization he’s volunteered with for 19 years in Wisconsin. In his submission, Nathan shared that “remnant prairies are stunningly captivating and motivating, especially in the context of a landscape in which they are exceedingly rare. Over and over again this epiphany is recognized or felt by people without any particular expertise or predisposition, scientific or otherwise, when lucky enough to encounter remnant prairie. It’s very much my story with respect to prairies, and is essentially the origin and basis of The Prairie Enthusiasts. This is a group that contains scientists and experts, but is fundamentally driven by the enthusiasm of amateurs learning, caring, and protecting.”

The Prairie Enthusiasts seeks to ensure the perpetuation and recovery of the Upper Midwest’s prairie, oak savanna, and other associated ecosystems through protection, management, restoration, and education.

In Florida, the team selected Grow Hub and Family Oriented Community United Strong (FOCUS). Larsen McBride, who has volunteered with Grow Hub for two years, shared that the “benefits and opportunities that Grow Hub provides therefore not only reach Alachua County residents, but also facilitate smarter urban landscaping.” Nadia Locke has volunteered with FOCUS for almost 15 years and shared that she supports this organization because of its mission to seek justice for the community in Tallevast, FL, which has been impacted by contamination from a former beryllium factory. 

Grow Hub is a native plant nursery in Alachua County whose mission is to cultivate, empower, and assist disabled adults in sustainable living through education, training, and job opportunities. Family Oriented Community United Strong (FOCUS) is a nonprofit organization that represents community interests in an Environmental Justice community in Manatee County.

Our West team selected Smith River Alliance (SRA) and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BHA). Three employees nominated SRA, with John Lang sharing that “the SRA mission and values closely align with those of RES, and they perform critical work for stewarding an entire watershed.” Nick Zanotti nominated BHA “for their work in not just protecting and restoring our environment, but ensuring that future generations of all ethnicities, sexes, and classes have access to build a relationship with… the environment that provides our home.”

Smith River Alliance works with local communities, conservation groups, and government agencies to protect and restore the forests, rivers, and wildlife of the Smith River ecosystem in northern California and southern Oregon. Backcountry Hunters & Anglers seeks to ensure North America’s outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting through education and advocacy for fish, wildlife, and wild places. 

For the Gulf Coast, our team selected four organizations: Bayou Vermillion Preservation Association (BVPA), Bayou Land Conservancy, Acadiana Native Plant Project (ANPP), and Cultiv8 Community. Two RES team members nominated the Bayou Vermillion Preservation Association. Micah Patout noted that he has continued to volunteer with BVPA because of their work “to better the environmental quality of the Vermillion River along with Lafayette Parish by providing educational outreach and volunteer work such as park beautifications, coastal prairie preservation, preservation of historic sites, and how to be an outstanding citizen within your community.” Matt Genotte has volunteered with Bayou Land Conservancy for three years and loves that “they preserve and restore land in the Greater Houston Area, which provides much needed wildlife habitat and is in a major flyway for migrating birds.” Ethan Eichler shared that he has “been volunteering with the Acadiana Native Plant Project on an almost weekly basis over the past two years and I believe they are a keystone organization for the advocacy of native plants in and around Acadiana.” In his submission for Cultiv8 Community, Mick Jarrett shared that the “passion, knowledge, and experience of Cultiv8 Community to introduce local kids to the natural resources in their area is inspiring and has me excited to help out however I can.”

Bayou Vermillion Preservation Association works on projects that directly improve water quality, watershed improvement initiatives, river/bayou cleanups, and related public events. Bayou Land Conservancy preserves land along streams for flood control, clean water, and wildlife in the Greater Houston area. The Acadiana Native Plant Project (ANPP) consists of native plant enthusiasts based in the Acadiana region of south Louisiana with a mission to promote the use of native plants within our landscape. Cultiv8 Community’s purpose is to introduce kids, especially kids in low-income areas, to nature while strengthening community bonds.

In the Southeast, we’re supporting the Georgia Native Plant Society (GNPS) and the North Carolina Coastal Federation (NCCF). In his submission, Glen Behrend shared that he volunteers with and nominated GNPS because his son “has become particularly interested in native plants. He spearheaded the creation of a native garden at his brother’s school. We appreciate the opportunity to support an organization that does such work.” Wes Newell has volunteered with NCCF for 29 years, helping to support the organization’s work to protect and restore North Carolina’s unique coast. 

The Georgia Native Plant Society is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the stewardship and conservation of Georgia’s native plants and their habitats. Over the past 40 years, the North Carolina Coastal Federation has worked alongside coastal communities to protect and restore the unique North Carolina coast. 

The Northeast chose the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania’s (ASWP) Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve in Pittsburgh. In RES’ Erin Majeran’s submission, she noted that “What I most appreciate about ASWP’s work is that through their public, and most often free, programs, they make attending a class or lending a hand feel extremely accessible for absolutely anyone who is curious to learn more about the natural world.”

The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania is a regional leader in conservation, native plants, and birding projects that protect the local natural world, offering educational and hands-on programs to connect people with birds and nature.

Our Mid-Atlantic team selected A Cleaner Kentucky and Gunpowder Valley Conservancy (GVC).  In his submission, Matt Graves shared that A Cleaner Kentucky “should be considered for the EcoGuardian Award because its efforts to maintain and protect a clean riparian habitat are in line with what we do at RES.” Will Weaver and his wife trained with GVC to become Stream Captains, and they now organize, lead, and complete a stream cleanup of Long Quarter Branch multiple times a year.

A Cleaner Kentucky began with one person who wanted to impact the environment for future generations. In June of 2023, Whitney Lewis set a goal of collecting 2,000 bags of trash. In less than a year, the group has grown to over 1,000 followers who, as individuals and groups, have collected over 50,000 bags of trash. The Gunpowder Valley Conservancy is a Baltimore County-based land trust and watershed restoration nonprofit organization. They are committed to clean water for the two million people who live in, visit, or benefit from the Gunpowder Watershed by preserving land, restoring ecosystems, and encouraging people to become environmental stewards.

Our Corporate team chose Houston Wilderness out of Houston, TX, and the Foundation for Ohio River Education (FORE) out of Cincinnati, OH. In his nomination, Matt Stahman shared that he has volunteered with Houston Wilderness for over ten years and that he “loves volunteering with Houston Wilderness because they engage our local communities, especially children and parents in disadvantaged neighborhoods.” Christa Korfhagen shared that “FORE truly embodies what it means to be an EcoGuardian” through their outreach and education programs, showing the community the importance of our waterways. 

Houston Wilderness works with a broad-based alliance of business, environmental, and government interests to protect and promote the 10 diverse ecoregions of the 13+ county area around Houston, Galveston Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico, including coastal prairies, forests, wetlands, and waterways. FORE teaches people of all ages in the Ohio River Basin to become environmental stewards through hands-on programs that get people on the water and engaged in preserving the cultural, ecological, and economic value of our rivers.

A big thank you to our team and this incredible group of organizations for doing meaningful work in our communities to support our Earth, acting as EcoGuardians on Earth Day and every day of the year.