Green Award awarded to two outstanding recipients
This year’s Community Awards Night, sponsored by the City of Pleasant Hill, the Pleasant Hill Chamber of Commerce, and the Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District, featured the return of the Green Award. This prestigious award acknowledges a business or organization for outstanding leadership in minimizing their impact on the environment and creating a sustainable future.
Out of six excellent nominees, two winners were selected—the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection and Sequoia Middle School’s EARTH Club.
Church of the Resurrection
“We’re honored to have been nominated for, let alone win, the award,” said Liz Fisher of the Care of the Earth Committee at the Church of the Resurrection. “We’re impressed that there were so many nominees and with the work they’ve done, too. We think there are probably a lot of things that other businesses and places of worship are doing out there to care for the earth—we just haven’t heard about them yet.”
In particular, Liz praised fellow Green Award nominee, Hillcrest Congregational Church, as well as Christ the King Church for joining together on some efforts and sharing information and ideas on sustainability.
The Church of the Resurrection’s green accomplishments include maintaining a fruit orchard, a comprehensive reuse area, and a recycling and composting program and educating the congregation about sustainability through various channels.
“It’s really just self respect to care for your own home and common decency to not destroy another’s,” Liz said. “And it’s usually pretty easy, cheaper, healthier, and more fun, being green.”
Sequoia Middle School EARTH Club
Bea Moore, retired Sequoia Middle School teacher and EARTH Club leader for many years, accepted the Green Award alongside Queenie Li, Sequoia Middle School EARTH Club President, and aspiring environmentalist.
“I’m honored to be recognized for all our hard work,” Bea said. “We’ve really
been doing a lot of good stuff and have never been recognized before.”
The EARTH Club manages the school’s recycling program, conducts campus and beach cleanups, maintains native gardens and a vegetable garden on campus, and educates other students and the community through Earth Day activities and a poster contest.
“I’m happy we got this award because I’ve never gotten something so important before,” Queenie said.
Other nominees for the Green Award included Cantrell’s Computer Sales and Service, 511 Contra Costa, and Plant Décor, all green certified businesses through the Green Business Program.
To reinforce the green message at the event, centerpieces at Community Awards Night were created from empty bottles gathered by Back Forty Texas BBQ and decorated by teens at the new Teen Center using old city newspapers and other salvaged decorations.
If you are interested in becoming a certified green business or working to promote sustainability in Pleasant Hill, please consider attending a Pleasant Hill Chamber of Commerce Green Business Committee meeting, held the last Monday of each month at 4pm at the Back Forty.
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