President Bush Honors Environmental Protection Efforts

Bestows awards for youth initiatives demonstrating environmental stewardship

President Bush and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson awarded 49 young Americans the 2005 Presidential Environmental Youth Award (PEYA).

The April 20 ceremony recognized 10 projects, designed by "young stewards of the environment ... setting a good example for what it means to be a citizen," the president said.

One project, the "Parker Branch Stream Team," was established by four Arkansas sixth- and eighth-graders. Members worked to preserve the beauty and ecological value of a stream southwest of Fayetteville, Arkansas, by taking water samples, performing physical and biological assessments of the watershed, and collaborating with county and state officials on a number of preservation projects.

Another project, led by the Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy's "Creek Freaks," traced the raw sewage polluting an Augusta, Georgia, area creek and spurred its clean up. "I think the creek's health has improved as has the attitude of the community," project member John Hughes told the Augusta Chronicle.

Michigan honoree Kacy Hermans created a "rain garden." Planted with Michigan wildflowers and plants, the garden cools runoff, filters pollutants and percolates water into the ground.

President Richard M. Nixon established the PEYA program in 1971. It is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency and aims to encourage individuals, school classes, summer camps, youth organizations and public interest groups to promote environmental awareness and encourage positive community involvement.

Source: U.S. Department of State

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