Pinellas extension helps county win award for sustainability
The Council for Sustainable Florida recently presented its annual Best Practices Awards, and the Pinellas County Extension Service was largely responsible for honors that went to the county overall.
At a ceremony held in Tallahassee June 11, Pinellas County received the Sustainable Government Award, one of nine categories in the Best Practices Awards. Winners were chosen by an independent panel that reviewed projects to determine if they were environmentally friendly, provided a strong business model and could be replicated.
The extension program spearheaded the county’s multifaceted sustainability effort, said Mary Campbell, Pinellas extension director.
“We were very proud that Pinellas County thought so highly of extension that they basically turned the entire program over to us,” said Campbell, who nominated the county for the award. “The award came to us because we have a comprehensive program – a whole community model.”
Among other accomplishments, the county has established an extension position devoted to sustainability, which is currently held by Devesh Nirmul. It also is the first county in the state to receive Green Local Government certification from the Florida Green Building Coalition, a process that meant meeting more than 300 criteria, Campbell said.
One day after the awards ceremony, representatives of the nine winners, including Campbell and Nirmul, were presented to Gov. Charlie Crist and his cabinet.
As part of the annual awards program, the UF/IFAS Program for Resource Efficient Communities was also honored. The program received one of 31 Promising Practice certificates, given to honor outstanding efforts to promote sustainability in Florida.
Pinellas County sustainability project
Pinellas County Extension Service
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Mary Campbell, Dedee Delongpre and Devesh Nirmul (shown in full image) accept the Sustainable Government Award.
