Environmental Excellence Awards

Recipients

2008 Environmental Excellence Awards for Individuals Recipients

Environmental Excellence Award for Individuals

Ben Kjelshus

"If you eat, you are involved in agriculture." ~ Wendell Berry, farmer and philosopher

• Ben has been a guiding force in organizing and fighting for a local, sustainable food community over the past 20 years. He founded the Kansas City Food Circle and was a co-founder of the Greens of Kansas City and the Kansas City Green Party.
• Most recently - in 2007 and 2008, he led the organization of two Coming Home to Eat Conferences – the start of many initiatives to educate the community about how to rebuild our regional food system. As a result, a local organization of a national grassroots effort called Food Not Lawns was formed here in Kansas City. Food Not Lawns aims to teach people about gardening and sustainability. The Kansas City group now has 70 plus members, a website, a Google group and hosts Communiversity classes and potlucks.
• Ben has a passion for helping connect people so they can live a healthy life, and does all he can to connect healthy eaters with healthy local farmers. He has assisted others in learning how to be as self-reliant by teaching them how grow their own food. His own home includes multiple raised garden beds. Ben has incredible community organizing skills, and he knows how to bring the community together to create real change.
• Ben’s dedication and commitment to seeing a regional food system is best described with words from fellow friend and community activist John Kurmann: "What I admire about Ben is his persistence--his decades-long passion for trying to make a positive difference in the world. I don't even know when he first became an activist, but it was long before I did. As anyone who's been at this for a while knows, it can be very frustrating work when you're convinced the need for change is urgent but the pace of change seems so slow. Also, it can be very difficult to remain active amidst the challenges of daily life, to find a balance that enables you to renew your energy so you can stay in the marathon rather than burn out. Whether it's because he's committed or ought to be committed, Ben is still with us, doing his best, living his values."

2008 Environmental Excellence Award for Volunteers Recipients

Environmental Excellence Award for Volunteers

Barry Elfant ""How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” ~ Anne Frank

• During the nearly two years since Barry Elfant first began providing administrative support to BTG’s volunteer program, he has become an essential member of our volunteer services team. Since starting in that role in January 2007, he has volunteered more than 130 times, coming in once or twice a week.
• Barry assists our volunteer coordinator with a wide variety of administrative tasks associated with managing a volunteer program of 2,600 active volunteers, but he has specialized in helping with volunteer recruitment. Barry is the “go to” person who makes sure that all of BTG’s volunteer opportunities are posted on the many local and national volunteer recruiting websites, which are one of BTG’s most effective volunteer recruiting tools. This saves the volunteer coordinator major time, because our volunteer program has grown significantly in recent years and offers significantly more volunteer opportunities.
• Barry also has helped develop – and keep updated – the many Group Contact Email Distribution Lists BTG uses to share our volunteer opportunities with high schools, colleges, corporations, faith groups and many other groups that are interested in service opportunities. This requires ongoing attention and has often required making cold calls, a task that many people are not comfortable doing.
• Barry has researched new recruiting ideas for BTG, helped the volunteer coordinator with data entry and scheduling calls when needed, and in fall 2007 he helped promote the new Overland Park Community Recycling Center by sending or delivering promotional materials to businesses and organizations. He has volunteered for several BTG events, including a Kansas City WildLands Ecological Restoration Workday, two EarthWalks, and our National Public Lands Day event, and he has tabled for BTG. He has also completed the Tree Keepers course offered by the Heartland Tree Alliance, which trains volunteers to help with tree care projects in the region.
• Barry shows leadership in his work in a variety of ways. He frequently suggests new ideas for the volunteer program and other programs at BTG, and he initiated a weekly email for BTG staff, called Hot Flashes, where he highlights articles he has seen in the New York Times about the environment or other pertinent topics.
• Barry is an outstanding BTG volunteer because of the amount of time he has given and continues to give to our organization, the reliability and regularity of his schedule, the quality and conscientiousness of his work, and his willingness to do a wide variety of tasks. Although we know that volunteering with us is probably not as glamorous as the days when he worked as an assistant to Motown Records founder Barry Gordy, Jr., we at BTG deeply appreciate the commitment and “soul” he brings to his work with us.

Ted Gault "If most of us are ashamed of shabby clothes and shoddy furniture, let us be more ashamed of shabby ideas and shoddy philosophies." ~ Albert Einstein

• To say that Ted Gault has been a linchpin of the Kansas City Community Recycling Centers is an understatement. Ted has been a one of THE most regular, reliable volunteers at the Northland-area recycling centers since he first started volunteering with Bridging The Gap in 1994. During that time, he has volunteered more than 190 times.
• Over the years, Ted has volunteered at the recycling center for anywhere from one to three times per month. Any time a health issue has made him briefly unable to volunteer, he has always come back once he was back up to speed. In the words of recycling center manager Tom Buck: “Ted is one of the single hardest working and most dependable volunteers I've ever worked with. He takes great pride in his work and especially enjoys working with new volunteers to pass down his enthusiasm and superb work ethic to others - especially younger people.”
• In addition to volunteering at the recycling center, Ted has volunteered at several other BTG-sponsored events, including a computer recycling event and at compost bin sales at our recycling center north of the river. Ted also was an active member of the Northland Steering Committee, an advisory committee primarily devoted to supporting BTG's recycling centers north of the river.
• Ted also has demonstrated his support of recycling in other important ways. Year after year, he has consistently attended and spoken at numerous public meetings to advocate for funding for the community recycling centers - including speaking at one particularly important budget hearing last winter, having received notice of the meeting barely 2 hours before. In 2004, he also demonstrated support of Kansas City’s then-new curbside recycling program by attending one of the important public forums held as the city was introducing that program. Ted was also actively involved as a volunteer in several efforts to get curbside recycling ballot measures passed in Kansas City and has tabled for BTG on a number of occasions.
• Ted is justifiably proud of his and his wife Drusilla’s volunteer work for the Airedale Terrier Rescue Association, his participation in two diversity groups led by Kansas City Star columnist Louis Duiguid, and the accomplishments of his children and their spouses, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In the words of recycling center manager Tom Buck: “It is people exactly like Ted who inspire others to do more, and to reach beyond themselves to better the world around them.”
• Ted explains his commitment to the recycling centers this way: “I like to volunteer as you do not get cheated on wages, and I appreciate other volunteers and the people who recycle.”

2008 Environmental Excellence Award For Schools Recipient

School of the Year

Oakhill Day School “Treat the Earth well. It was not given to you by your parents. It was loaned to you by your children.” ~ Kenyan Proverb

• Oakhill Day School achieves environmental excellence by including the environment in its guiding principles and then acting upon its commitment through the details of everyday school operation.
• In 2007, the school made a renewed commitment to the environment and has focused its efforts in five key areas: recycling, landscaping, food purchasing, composting and integrating curriculum – with the involvement of all 250 students and 42 faculty and staff members.
• Fourth through sixth grade students collect paper for recycling from every classroom and office in the school each morning. In the 2007-2008 school year, the school recycled 6.7 tons of paper. Parent and teacher volunteers also collect cardboard, aluminum cans, plastic bottles and glass.
• During the 2007-2008 school year, the school’s outdoor classroom was revitalized and doubled in size. The outdoor gardens feature 108 square feet of native plants to Kansas and Missouri. Every grade is responsible for a bed in the school’s vegetable garden. Last fall, students grew lettuce, spinach, cabbage and broccoli, and in the spring, onions, peas, and potatoes were added. All the harvested food went to the school’s kitchen and used in soups, casseroles and in the salad bar. Students watered the vegetable gardens with water collected from two rain barrels on school grounds. Only composted fertilizer is used on both gardens. Students compost their leftover lunch food and take turns dumping it into bins outside and turning the compost bin handles to aid in the breakdown of the food.
• Students at Oakhill Day School are served lunch by Bistro Kids, which participates in the Farm 2 School program, a unique concept designed to partner with local farmers and food producers to improve the health of students through eating fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, free-range meats and hormone-free milk. Students get fresher food, and fossil fuel consumption with transportation is lowered by eating food closer to home. In total, Oakhill helps keep more than $28,000 in the local economy by buying locally produced food from local farmers.
• In 2007-2008, the schools science curriculum was revamped to include an emphasis on environmental education. Third graders learned about deforestation of the rainforest and how to stop its devastating effects. Fourth graders learned about global warming, and during their Human Body unit, they created skeletons with organs made entirely out of recycled materials. When home projects are assigned, students are given extra credit for using recycled materials.
• At the end of 2008, Oakhill Day School was hit by a tornado, which destroyed parts of the roof and walls. Despite this setback, students and teachers have not only continued their environmental efforts for this school year, but have stepped up their efforts by expanding composting capacity, including a green section to their newsletter and adding a new science faculty member to the staff.

Business Award Recipient

ColorMark Printing, Inc. When Mother Theresa was asked, "How do you go on when we're barely making a dent?" she said, "My son, God is not concerned with my results, only my efforts."

• Founded in 1990, ColorMark Printing is a local Kansas City-based small company making big efforts toward sustainability. The company has 47 full time and 14 part time employees.
• In an industry where high volumes of paper and ink are consumed, the company has invested in new technologies to save paper and ink and use sustainable products and printing practices on a massive scale.
• ColorMark invested in a new digital press that reduces paper waste – printing 1,000 8½ x 11 copies on the new digital press versus the same amount and dimensions on a conventional press saves on average sixty pounds of paper – or about one tree.
• ColorMark offers vegetable and soy-based inks, and it invested $40,000 in a new ink-mixing system - allowing the company to now mix the exact amount of ink required for a project and thereby minimizing waste.
• ColorMark is certified by The Forest Stewardship Council as a company that fully supports responsible fine paper printing practices that promote sustainability. The certification requires a $12,000 five-year investment with yearly audits. When other printing companies often pass the certification costs on to their customers - ColorMark instead absorbs the cost so that using certified paper is not more expensive for clients.
• The company is also certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, insuring that the paper being used came from certified forests and merchants and that ColorMark follows sustainable printing practices.
• ColorMark involves its employees in its environmental efforts. Employees assist with recycling, and ColorMark has incorporated green cleaning practices and replaced all of its lighting fixtures with energy-saving ones. This switchover to energy-efficient lighting has resulted in a more comfortable work environment for the pressmen and, because the lighting is better, the company is able to better determine the ink color matches during press checks for clients’ printing projects. Overall, the change has resulted in a 50-percent savings cost for the company.
• For the community, ColorMark participated in a fundraiser for Greensburg, Kansas, has joined the Kansas City Climate Protection Partnership and regularly hosts lunch and learns on sustainability efforts for its clients. The company also just participated in carrotmobkc on October 21, won the Orion Environmental Stewardship Award and purchased $1,090 worth of trees for Forest 360 that McCormick Distilling is planting in Weston, Missouri.

Individual Award Recipient

• Bob and Doris have played an exceptional and integral part in the restoration, conservation and protection of Hidden Valley Park natural area - working closely with stakeholders, community members, KCWL Partners, KCMO Parks and volunteers by the hundreds to remove invasive plants and end inappropriate off-road vehicle use, as well as giving well-informed input on management and Parks planning and helping to build a sustainable and land-sensitive trail system.
• Bob and Doris have accomplished tremendous work through not only their own extensive and committed personal efforts, but also through building strong partnerships for the Hidden Valley site (The Sierra Club – Thomas Hart Benton Group; North Face, Inc; KCMO Parks and Rec; and the KCMO Police Department, to name a few) and by working with existing structures to secure funds for improvements on the site.
• Bob and Doris regularly coordinate and lead restoration workdays with individuals and groups at Hidden Valley outside of KCWL’s regularly scheduled workdays, introducing citizens from diverse backgrounds to the beauty of the metropolitan area wild lands, and the need for their appreciation and stewardship.
• Bob and Doris commit their time, efforts and passion to all sites and efforts of the KCWL Coalition – leading groups wherever and whenever their leadership is needed, and contributing their diverse knowledge and affiliations to the planning, education, communications and visions of the KCWL Coalition necessary to meet KCWL’s mission and goals.

Organization Award Recipient

• The biology department at Rockhurst University has been a strong community partner in restoring and conserving remnant wild areas throughout the greater Kansas City area, and has consistently been very involved with the ongoing stewardship of these wild lands both in the classroom and on the land.
• The department has provided passionate commitment to the stewardship of Kansas City’s wild places through many capacities: strong involvement by their outstanding faculty in Kansas City WildLands, leadership (both for the KCWL Coalition and for volunteer workdays), biological and natural resource expertise, equipment and time for surveying and monitoring activities, and large-scale volunteer recruitment through students to participate in hands-on remnant natural community stewardship.
• It integrates hands-on restoration of the wild lands into several of its classes’ curriculums, with the dual result of very visible restoration on the land today and students gaining a much deeper appreciation and understanding of the complexities and significance of natural communities – creating tomorrow’s stewards of the earth!
• Faculty share their passion for the wild lands not just with their students, but with all KC citizens involved with wild lands – from citizen restoration volunteers to home school groups to fellow biologists and public natural resource managers…embodying the KCWL mission of conserving wild lands by involving people in their stewardship.

Individual Award Recipient

Henry C. Johnson, Ph.D. “When you’re inspired by God… you don’t have to worry about what you know or who you know. Just move forward in faith. He will make the way.”

• Henry Johnson is recognized for his dedicated work and commitment to the Benton Boulevard Corridor Beautification project, which is a grassroots initiative for community renewal using beautification of a historic residential corridor as a catalyst to revitalize underserved neighborhoods.
• Henry’s vision for the Benton Boulevard Beautification initiative began very simply: Henry’s wife Jan lived in the Santa Fe neighborhood as a child, and Henry and Jan recently moved back to Kansas City, the very place of her childhood. The Johnsons purchased and began rehabilitation of a 27-unit apartment building, which was a major cause of blight in the Santa Fe neighborhood.
• Inspired by God and conversations with dedicated members of the neighborhoods who are active in the community by fighting crime, blight and apathy, he believed the community could take charge and create the spark for a turnaround. Henry knew the turnaround would need thinking outside of the box with a focus on beautification of the Benton Corridor, rather than being stuck in a conversation about crime and cleanup. Henry believes beautification can increase hope and a sense of community. In his Henry’s words: “We need a catalyst that can re-energize people and help us see what we can achieve if we work together.”
• Henry shared his vision with Constance Tate, the City’s Neighborhood Assistance Program coordinator, who directed him to others who would be interested in assisting him. Andrea Babbitt, then-coordinator of Keep Kansas City Beautiful, was first on the list. Henry recalls: “My conversation with her was so inspiring; I couldn’t wait to move forward. ‘Call Carol Edwards,’ Constance reminded me. Carol invited me to an Oak Park Neighborhood Council meeting. There I met Constance Norton. She said, ‘Yes I will attend your leadership team meeting at 7:30 am.’ In comes Emily Miller and Arletha Manlove…The rest is history.”
• The mission of the Benton Boulevard Beautification movement is to create a more beautiful community that will retain and attract businesses, church attendees and residents, increase property values, decrease criminal activity, improve the walkability of the neighborhood, improve resident health, and develop pride and ownership in neighborhood accomplishments.
• Participants develop landscaping and gardening skills and property owners are inspired to improve their properties. Neighbors know each other and have systems for communication with each other and city services. By maintaining the historic integrity of the boulevard through community involvement, design standards, zoning and beautification efforts, the corridor will return as a symbol of success.
• The Benton Boulevard Beautification Initiative has had both a direct and indirect impact on the beautification of the Benton Corridor. Through cleanup efforts, the numbers of blighted “hotspots” have been reduced. Inspired and educated by the demonstration garden process, more property homeowners, churches, commercial property owners and rental property owners are landscaping and planting flowers. Beautification efforts are also increasing among property and homeowners surrounding Benton Boulevard on neighborhood blocks. Homeowners and property owners are working more collaboratively with city departments and neighbors.
• Henry’s efforts specific to the Benton Boulevard Beautification project include:
  • Organizing the Benton Boulevard Beautification Leadership Team
  • Creating a Google Map of Benton Boulevard 12 key blighted “hotspots” to target
  • Identifying 12 Benton Beautification demonstration sites at major intersections
  • Helping the leadership team develop a Benton Boulevard Beautification work plan
  • Creating the Allen Chapel Beautification Team and workplan
  • Implementing clean up and beautification strategies
  • Recruiting two partners and 25 volunteers to plant 12 demonstration gardens
  • Creating a demo planting workshop
  • And supporting multi-neighborhood cleanups
    

Organization Award Recipient

Metropolitan Community Service Program “This project continues to demonstrate how working on improving our environment can also be a way to improve community self-esteem, which in turn can benefit public safety and even future economic development hopes.”

• Metropolitan Community Service Program provides ongoing, cost-free labor of court-appointed community service workers for the cleanup of multiple community sites. This benefits the judicial system by providing community service as an alternative to incarceration.
• Workers do the hard physical work which neighborhood residents often cannot do. They help reduce crime by cleaning up blighted areas.
• Metropolitan Community Service Program’s approach is a special way of addressing blight in the urban core through collaboration with court-ordered community service workers, city departments, neighborhoods, businesses, schools, churches and other institutions.
• MCSP utilized the city’s Adopt A Street program to adopt nine miles of Prospect Avenue from Independence Avenue to 85th Street, and it assigned hundreds of community service workers who wanted to work this project to perform litter control and beautification efforts weekly.
• More than 17 tons of litter has been removed, sending a message to the community that litter is blight and will no longer be tolerated.
• Perhaps the greatest benefit is to the community service workers who participate in neighborhood cleanups. They experience the positive effects of giving back to the community.
• In 2007, the Metropolitan Community Service Program in Kansas City, Missouri, had 2,935 clients provide $177,790 in free labor and collect a total of 217,866 pounds of trash, including the removal of 2,021 tires and 9,300 pounds of limbs.
• In Kansas City, Kansas, 783 clients provided $49,716 in free labor, collected a total of 111,820 pounds of trash, including 507 tires and 13,050 pounds of limbs.
• And in Independence, Missouri, 1,710 clients provided $159,924 in free labor, collected a total of 68,535 pounds of trash, including 557 and 4,540 pounds of limbs.

Individual Award Recipient

Joan Steurer “Trees lead by example. Your roots mean everything. Weather the storms. Keep growing. Give shelter and support. Bend, don’t break. Give more than you take. Shed what you don’t need – someone else can use it. Provide for future generations. Trees silently teach important lessons that hold true not only for our relationship with the environment, but also with each other.”

• Joan Steurer has been instrumental in bringing attention to trees and their value.
• Joan calculated the values that were used on the Tree Price Tags in April, using a nationally recognized model. These tags helped citizens and elected officials understand the ecologic and economic value trees provide to a community.
• She has also done GIS and remote sensing analysis of the urban heat island in the metro and has used that data to give presentations on the impact trees have on energy savings and temperature. This data, along with data Joan has generated on the value of the street trees for the City of Kansas City, Missouri and other municipalities, is important in helping elected officials to understand that funding of tree plantings and maintenance are extremely important.
• Joan’s work is currently being used in grant applications for future data collecting in the region.

Organization Award Recipient

City of Mission and The Mission Tree Board “The City of Mission and the Mission Tree Board believe that by maintaining and promoting healthy ecosystems it will become the cornerstone of our community’s vitality, longevity and ecological well-being.”

• The City of Mission and the Mission Tree Board have gone a long way in engaging people to take action and advocate for a healthy community forest.
• In January, the City passed Resolution #708, which directed the Community Development Director to work with the Mission Tree Board and Public Works to create a tree maintenance plan and a tree risk management plan, both vital parts of a healthy community forest.
• The Mission Tree Board works with the second and fifth graders of Rushton Elementary School around educational programming and activities about Arbor Day.
• The City of Mission also believes in community collaboration and has partnered with Heartland Tree Alliance and Boy Scouts to plant and care for trees throughout Mission.
• Along with multiple partners, they participated in the Tree Price Tag project in April, creating community awareness about the value of trees.
• The City is committed to trees on private property too, hosting an annual tree sale each year, and beginning in January 2009, Council has approved a Tree-Trimming Grant program for low-income citizens allowing financial assistance for trimming trees on private property.

Mayor Stan Salva “Community-based environmental awareness must become a priority on every legislative agenda at federal, state, and local levels. As MDNR has stated, Environmental Excellence is a process not a program. The heart of this awareness must evolve from our communities. We need to continue to reinforce our message with our schools, and local elected officials to make sustainability issues a top priority.”

The 2008 David Garcia Award for Environmental Excellence recognizes the collaborative work of Mayor Stan Salva of the City of Sugar Creek, Missouri. Stan is a long-standing city council member and has served as mayor for 10 years. His efforts and leadership on regional solutions to water and solid waste issues benefit all communities. Stan is chair of the Jackson County Storm Water Management Commission. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Little Blue Valley Sewer District. For the past 10 years, he has worked to mitigate water pollution and storm water infiltration in sewers. Stan is also a true champion for solid waste issues and has served as the chairman of the MARC Solid Waste Management District for four of his six years on the board. His leadership supported sustainable innovation at the Lafarge Sugar Creek Cement Kiln which has implemented strategies to reduce its reliance on coal and seek alternatives for energy production. The Lafarge plant is now using the methane gas from adjacent landfills to offset coal as well as high-BTU waste materials like paper and plastic which cannot be readily recycled or composted. These projects have led to significant reduction in air pollution and waste disposal. Stan demonstrates true commitment to the core values of sustainability: a healthy environment, a healthy community, and a healthy economy.