The winners of the 19th Annual Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards were honored for various areas of environmental stewardship by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection yesterday.
Among the honorees recognized during the awards program luncheon at the New Jersey State Museum, was our own vice president of land preservation, Sandy Urgo. Sandy won the 2018 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award in Land Conservation, one of the most significant environmental awards in New Jersey.
We nominated Sandy because of the enormous respect we have for her attention to detail, encyclopedic knowledge of New Jersey rules and fierce determination to preserve every property she sees. In my 24 years of doing this work I can think of nobody more deserving. And clearly the Governor agrees,” said David Epstein, president of The Land Conservancy.
The Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards are New Jersey’s premier environmental awards recognizing outstanding environmental performance, programs and projects in the state. The program has recognized 180 winners since 2000. The DEP received 50 applications for this year’s awards and a panel of judges reviewed and scored the nominations.
First Lady Tammy Snyder Murphy spoke at the event and distributed awards with Commissioner McCabe. “This year’s winners exemplify New Jersey’s strong commitment to protecting the environment and following practices that will help us fight climate change and sea-level rise, while also improving flooding resiliency around the state,” Commissioner McCabe said. “Their fine work is an example to us all, and I congratulate the winners for their outstanding achievements.”
The DEP, New Jersey Infrastructure Bank, and the New Jersey Corporation for Advanced Technology, in partnership with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities and the DEP’s Environmental Stewardship Initiative, are sponsors of the program. To learn more about the program, visit www.nj.gov/dep/eeawards/