CARE for the Cape & Islands presented its annual stewardship awards during the CARE About a Clean Cape & Islands Summit held Nov. 4 at the Mid-Cape Conference Center in Yarmouth.
Nominations were requested from the public for the Business/Organization Stewardship Award and Youth Stewardship Award.
Entrepreneurs, NGO’s, municipal leaders and nonprofit organizations from the Cape and Islands attended the event. Attendees at the Summit heard from Julie Regan, External Affairs Chief and Deputy Director, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, about how they built Take Care Tahoe into a supportive stewardship collaborative that benefits their community. Local businesses and organizations presented Cape and Islands success stories that showed how they built environmental sustainability initiatives into their business model.
The CARE Business/Organization Stewardship Award was presented to Stephanie Murphy, Woods Hole Sea Grant Communications Specialist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. The award recognizes an organization’s commitment to protecting the natural beauty of Cape Cod and the Islands and who have adopted day-to-day practices that fit CARE’s mission to preserve and enhance its natural environment, culture or history. Murphy was recognized for spearheading a program that resulted in a significant reduction of plastic in the waste stream due to a successful boat shrink-wrap program. Working in collaboration with a number of municipalities, an estimated 15 to 20,000 pounds/7.5 to 10 tons of shrink wrap were collected in the 12-week period and diverted from the waste stream.
The Youth Award, presented to an individual or youth group who is age 18 or younger who exhibits the same commitment to caring for Cape Cod and the Islands, was given to Zoe Simmons of Harwich, a student at Nauset Regional Middle High School. A reporter for the school’s newspaper, The Nauset Current, she uses the platform to speak up for Cape Cod’s beauty and how to enhance it. Last semester she authored two articles to promote the health and well being of the local environment. Simmons is an active member of Ocean Protection Advocacy Kids’ club, The Blue Crew, a place where students come together to learn about and advocate for our blue planet.
“We believe that it’s important to recognize and encourage those individuals and organizations that are doing amazing things to take care of this special place,” said CARE Director Jill Talladay. “Our stewardship awards are presented to those who go above and beyond, on a regular basis.”
Previous recipients may be found at https://careforthecapeandislands.org/stewardship-award/
