Menlo Park, Calif. -- GreatNonprofits announced today that the
Chewonki Foundation of Wiscasset, Maine, has won first place in the 2009 Green Choice Awards. The contest, held during Earth Month in April, asked people to submit reviews and ratings about environmental nonprofits.
"There
are so many great nonprofits who don't have an advertising budget and
are not household names," says Perla Ni, CEO and founder of
GreatNonprofits. "We enable grassroots nonprofits to gain recognition."
GreatNonprofits added that today's results provide surprising insights
into the kinds of organizations that are considered effective by
volunteers, donors and stakeholders.
While big organizations such
as Greenpeace and the Sierra Club were available for review, those
groups didn't see the kinds of results that their smaller counterparts
did. For example, the reviews for the Natural Resources Defense Council
totaled 5, while the Chewonki Foundation garnered 166 reviews and an
overall five-star rating.
Chewonki President Don Hudson was
thrilled to receive the news and enthusiastically thanked the Chewonki
supporters who made their voices heard. "We are delighted to be honored
with the 2009 Green Choice Award and to see the reviews
that so many of our friends and supporters wrote on our behalf. Our
work with young people is a continuous source of inspiration to us, and
we are motivated every day by the vision for a healthy planet."
The winning organizations of this year's Green Choice Awards are:
Annual Budget More Than $1 Million
Chewonki Foundation
Wiscasset, Maine
http://www.greatnonprofits.org/reviews/chewonki-foundation-incThe Chewonki Foundation announced today that it has installed a
geothermal heating system at its Center for Environmental Education in
Wiscasset, Maine, adding yet another significant source of energy to
its large array of renewable systems. To date the 400-acre campus is
home to a variety of renewable energy projects including solar hot
water, solar electricity, renewable hydrogen, biodiesel, biomass
(wood), and a developing wind project.
The geothermal system will
immediately help to lower the institution's CO2 emissions and is part
of Chewonki's strategy to model practical solutions to the worldwide
challenge of climate change.
Geothermal systems make use of the
constant 45- to 55-degree temperatures that exists just four feet
underground in Maine. These systems concentrate the earth's heat for
use during the winter. The same systems can also provide cooling in the
summer. The new installation at Chewonki will not only save money but
also will result in a reduction in the amount of fuel oil that Chewonki
will burn during the heating season, thus reducing the institution's
dependence on fossil fuels.
"We are delighted that Chewonki is
now able to model the use of geothermal energy on our campus in
Wiscasset," said Chewonki Sustainability Coordinator Peter Arnold.
"This addition will make a big impact on our carbon reduction plan at
Chewonki, and perhaps more importantly, it provides yet another way to
display the practical use of renewable energy systems for the public to
see."
Chewonki will unveil its new geothermal system at its 9th annual Sustainable Energy Conference on May 9, 2009.
One of the six workshops offered that day will focus on geothermal
energy. Conference participants will be able to view the system in
operation and learn how they can implement one in their home or
business.
Boston, Mass. -- Chewonki received the Climate Champion Award from Clean Air - Cool Planet for leadership in climate action at an awards dinner in Boston on October 15.
More than 280 people attended the gala dinner, which celebrated and honored a host of environmental leaders.
"We've
been proud to call the people of Chewonki friends and colleagues for a
decade," said Clean Air-Cool Planet CEO Adam Markham. "Tonight, we have
the great pleasure to present them with a Climate Champion Award for
the leadership in educating people about the causes and the solutions
to global warming," said Markham.
Clean Air-Cool Planet's Climate
Champion Awards are presented annually to outstanding individuals,
campuses, communities, science centers and corporations that have
demonstrated leadership and excellence in implementing solutions to
global warming. The Climate Champion Awards serve not only as a mark of
distinction, but as a motivation for other individuals and institutions
who seek inspiration and leadership on this issue.
Chewonki
received this year's Climate Champion Award because of its exemplary
institutional commitment to solving the climate change problem,
especially the organization's outreach efforts, including:
- Greenhouse gas emissions reduction and education;
- Development
of materials, lessons, and demonstration projects on a wide range of
topics, from solid-waste management to the use of renewable fuels;
- Origination
and support of the nation's first publicly accessible direct
high-pressure hydrogen system, designed to explore the use of hydrogen
as a storage medium for all renewable energy sources.
This year's winners also include
- Furman
University in Greensville, SC, for its innovative climate action
planning model, the breadth of its campus sustainability initiatives,
and the visionary leadership in the higher education community of its
President, Dr. David Shi;
- Hannaford Brothers Co. for
opening the world's first LEED Platinum certified supermarket in
Augusta, Maine and leadership in corporate climate action;
- Sven-Olof Lindblad for his tremendous commitment to global conservation issues;
- Representative
Edward J. Markey for leadership in the fight for a more progressive
energy strategy in the House of Representatives;
- SunEdison for its unique business model supporting the development of large scale renewable energy projects;
- Dr.
Susan F. Tierney, founding board member at CA-CP, former environmental
affairs commissioner for Massachusetts and assistant secretary for
policy in the US Department of Energy, for her work in the energy and
climate field;
- And the Town of Temple, NH for its common sense, citizen-supported efficiency projects, conservation and continuing education.
"On
behalf of everyone at Chewonki, I can say that we are pleased and proud
to receive this award," said Chewonki President Don Hudson. "We have
been trying to ‘walk the talk' since the energy crisis of 1973, so this
special award is wonderful recognition that we have had some success."
Past
winners of the award for their leadership in climate action include
governors John Baldacci of Maine and George Pataki of New York; Bank of
America, Oakhurst Dairy, Staples and Timberland; Hull, MA, and
Maplewood, NJ; Middlebury College, UNH, and Tufts University.
About Clean Air-Cool Planet
Clean
Air-Cool Planet is the leading science-based, non-partisan, non-profit
organization dedicated solely to finding and promoting solutions to
global warming. Through our Climate Policy Center we develop and
promote economically efficient and innovative climate policies. CA-CP
provides hands-on assistance to companies, campuses, communities and
science centers throughout the Northeast to help them reduce their
carbon emissions. We celebrate the commitment, innovation and success
of our partners as they implement practical climate solutions that
demonstrate the economic opportunities and environmental benefits of
action on climate change.
Contact: Bill Burtis, communications manager, bburtis@cleanair-coolplanet.org
603-570-7505