Sustainable Living Awards, 2012

On October 1, 2012, Sustainable Claremont held its fourth annual meeting and awarded certificates of appreciation for exceptional contributions to a more sustainable community in the following categories:

Sustainable Energy Savings: to Christine Williams, who had a 1950s tract home retrofitted for a 45% energy savings, the highest of any CHERP project.

Landscape: to Alan Jones and Jennifer Berkley, who replaced a small, uninspiring front lawn with a design that uses less water and complements the traditional style of their house. The remodel includes a sitting area, recycled concrete, decomposed granite, citrus trees, and drip irrigation.

Community Leader: to Nancy Mintie, Executive Director and founder of Uncommon Good, an organization dedicated to breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty and to the restoration of our planet. It has launched the Pomona Valley Urban Agriculture Initiative, and its Whole Earth Building, the “Superadobe”, is nearing completion on a site behind the Methodist Church in Claremont.

School Project: to Claremont High School PINE, which installed a large new garden on campus and built a solar boat for a competition.

And many thanks to:
Sustainable Claremont Interns:
Hilary Haskell, who helped with Earth Day, Moving Planet Day, and the Sustainability Dialogs—especially getting college students involved. She is currently attempting to get an organization like Sustainable Claremont started in the City of Orange;

Marissa Novak, who worked with CHERP last summer, posting materials on their website and collecting data on actual energy usage reduction in Claremont homes that have been retrofitted under CHERP;

Kelly Murphy, who worked with the Natural Landscape Action Group and prepared a GIS map of natural areas in the City.

HMC Intern:
Dustin Zubke, who worked on the proposed Claremont Colleges’ water reclamation project for a full year, producing a detailed feasibility study of the project and presenting his results to the SC Water Action Group and to relevant college groups including the Council of Presidents.

Schools Coordinator:
Dessa D’Aquila, who acted as Community Garden Coordinator for the Claremont Unified School District for the past year and has been of great assistance in the establishment and maintenance of school gardens. She has worked closely with the SC Schools Action Group on school gardens and related initiatives.