Sustainable Living Awards, 2011

On October 3rd, 2011, Sustainable Claremont held its third Annual Meeting and awarded certificates of appreciation for exceptional contributions to a more sustainable community in the following categories:

Business — to Le Pain Quotidien, for the wholesome food served in their restaurant, and particularly their home-baked bread.

Energy Retrofit — to David and Valorie Cressy, who greatly improved the energy efficiency and comfort of their home. Their energy retrofit was done by Andrew Durben of Home Performance Matters who took pride in their work and also deserve recognition;

Landscape — to Daniel Gluckstein and Akemi Chang, who removed lawns and a swimming pool and replaced them with well-designed drought-tolerant landscaping and raised beds;

Community Leader — to Mark von Wodtke, founder of the Claremont Environmental Design Group (CEDG) who years ago designed and built their office building with exceptional attention to features of sustainability. Mark’s firm Energy Harvester installs solar electric systems;

Sustainable Living — to Sorrel Stielstra, who practices and advocates a sustainable life style through home food production, water conservation, waste reduction, in her teaching, and in many other ways;

Sustainable Neighborhood — to Pilgrim Place, which has cut water consumption by over 50%, constructed new buildings to high standards of sustainability and is retrofitting old ones to be more energy efficient, and which composts waste and grows food in community gardens. CEO Bill Cunitz accepted the award;

School — to San Antonio High School, for their education about and practice of sustainability through school gardens that contribute to the healthful food served at the school. Soon they will be holding another of their community dinners open to the public, hosted and prepared by the students. The award was accepted by Principal Steve Bond and students;

Urban Farm — to Doug and Judy McGoon, who grow much of their own vegetables and fruit, raise chickens, and use extensive composting and vermiculture to recycle organic waste and fertilize their plants;

Finally, to Bowen Close, Sustainability Coordinator for Pomona College, who contributed much to the sustainability program at Pomona, and to the community through educational presentations and support of the Sustainability dialog series co-sponsored by Sustainable Claremont and Pomona College.

Congratulations to all!