Several University of Hawaiʻi units have been named recipients of the Good Neighbor and Environmental Hero Awards by the Department of Facility Maintenance Storm Water Quality (SWQ) Division for significant contributions to the City and County of Honolulu’s SWQ programs.
Recipients of the Good Neighbor and Environmental Hero Awards are individuals, businesses, schools, community groups and government agencies that have partnered together to foster positive changes in their communities to protect the environment. Volunteer efforts by these clean water heroes include creating awareness of storm water pollution and water quality issues in streams and the ocean, educating and informing specific audiences about the impacts of storm water pollution, and actively engaging in best management practices to reduce pollutants in stormwater runoff.
The Good Neighbor Award identifies groups that have exhibited exceptional volunteer service for the betterment of their communities through participation in the City’s Adopt-A-Block and Adopt-A-Stream, Storm Drain Marking and educational programs. Among this year’s awardees are: UH and UH Mānoa’s Chi Epsilon.
The Environmental Hero Award celebrates groups that have organized and coordinated Adopt-A-Block or Adopt-A-Stream clean ups to protect Hawaiʻi’s waters. Among this year’s awardees are: Kapiʻolani Community College STEM program, UH Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources and the Waikīkī Aquarium.
“We’re thrilled to honor these clean water heroes who help to care for our island home,” said Roger Babcock, Jr., director and chief engineer of the department of facility maintenance and UH Mānoa professor of civil and environmental engineering. “We’re so thankful to them for being Good Neighbors and Environmental Heroes.”
The virtual awards ceremony will be hosted virtually on Friday, February 26 at noon via Zoom. It will also be streamed on Facebook and YouTube.
For more information, visit cleanwaterhonolulu.com.
