From restoring native kokanee salmon to developing green and sustainable communities, this year’s King County Green Globe Award winners are an inspiration to those working toward a better region.

The Green Globe Awards are the County’s highest environmental honor for businesses, organizations and individuals who have participated in one or more programs with the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks.

Green Globe winners this year include:

• Local community leaders with decades of service to the area,
• Cities and non-profit organizations that worked on environmental related projects or programs, offering innovative solutions, outreach, project management and
• Education fostering environmental stewardship in the community by protecting the environment, managing natural resources and encouraging community involvement.

Awards are bestowed only every two years, and winners are considered the “best of the best.”

To kick off a week-long campaign around Earth Day, winners will be honored at an awards program on Earth Day, April 22.

The 2013 King County Green Globe Award winners are:

Louise Miller, Environmental Catalyst

A former state legislator, King County Council member, and member of numerous advisory committees, Louise Miller has demonstrated how actions to manage growth, protect open space, and establish parks can create a better quality of life. She was an early voice for farmlands protection through development rights acquisitions, and establishing “Agricultural Production Districts,” and most recently she co-chaired the King County Parks Levy task Force that recommended a package of investments to keep parks safe, open and accessible.

Climate Solutions, Leader in Addressing Climate Change

For 15 years, Climate Solutions has pioneered the vision and built political leadership in the Northwest for the proposition that clean energy and broadly-shared economic prosperity can go hand-in-hand. They have succeeded in building coalitions across cities and farms, business and labor, environmentalists and social justice advocates, for innovative solutions to the challenges of climate change.

Cascade Bicycle Club, Leader in Community Stewardship

Recognizing the need for infrastructure that is safe, comfortable and convenient for everyone to bike on, Cascade has long supported the development of more trails and bicycling infrastructure in King County. Cascade has provided input and guidance on many important trail projects, such as the redevelopment and improvement of the Burke-Gilman Trail through Lake Forest Park and getting the Eastside Rail Corridor into public ownership.

Friends of the Cedar River Watershed (FCRW), Leader in Community Stewardship

By connecting people with the natural world in a way that achieves demonstrable habitat restoration success, FCRW multiplies the hands involved in caring for our natural areas. Since 1996, they have fostered these relationships by engaging people to enhance and sustain watersheds through restoration, education and stewardship.

Liesl Zappler, Swedish Medical Center, Leader in Sustainable Landscaping Practices

Liesl Zappler has helped numerous institutions transition to greener landscapes and gardening practices. As the Landscape Coordinator for Swedish Medical Center, Liesl spearheaded the focus of environmentally sustainable grounds throughout the Swedish campus system – starting with the adoption of an Integrated Pest Management policy, evaluating and improving landscaping practices and re-designing existing plantings.

Wally Pereyra, Leader in Habitat Restoration

Wally Pereyra has been a tireless advocate for habitat conservation and restoration in the watershed, investing his own time and resources to improve access to high quality spawning and rearing habitat for Sammamish kokanee. Most recently, Wally led an effort to replace an undersized culvert on his land along Ebright Creek that for decades had been a barrier to fish passage.

Oxbow Farm, Leader in Conservation and Agricultural Education

Oxbow is a 25 acre organic farm, education center, and native plant nursery located on 100-acres in the Snoqualmie Valley 25 miles east of Seattle that was begun in 1999 by farmers Luke Woodward and Sarah Cassidy on less than an acre and now covers 25 acres, with a steady clientele through their community supported agriculture program. They have partnered with stewardship and research groups to restore nearby habitat and to improve soil conditions.

The City of Shoreline, Leader in Pesticide Reduction

Shoreline has been a leader in King County in their pesticide-use reduction efforts for more than 10 years, implementing policies and offering public education to achieve the goals of responsible stewardship of park land, private property and open space within the city. The city has also encouraged homeowners in Shoreline to reduce pesticide use by providing Pesticide Free Zone signs and providing educational materials on natural yard care.

Lakeside Industries, Leader in Recycling Market Development

Lakeside Industries, one of the largest asphalt paving contractors in the Pacific Northwest, is producing more sustainable pavements by using recycled asphalt shingles in its paving mix. The company has worked with other industry representatives and the Washington State Department of Transportation on a new pavement specification for evaluating pavements containing recycled asphalt shingles on state roads.

Aaron Adelstein, Leader in Sustainable Building

As executive director of the Built Green program of King and Snohomish Counties, Aaron Adelstein manages one of the nation’s most successful green building certification programs with more than 500 member companies and 20,000 projects certified. His achievements include serving on the City of Seattle’s Green Building Task Force from 2008-2010 for Mayor Greg Nickels and on a technical working group to Governor Christine Gregoire’s Climate Action Team in 2007-2008.

Cari Simson, Leader in Green Stormwater Infrastructure

Urban Systems Design, founded by Cari Simson, provides visionary project design and communication services to create, lead and facilitate public engagement opportunities, specifically related to urban green stormwater infrastructure. Simson has brought dynamic and innovative leadership to three grant-funded community-initiated roadside rain garden projects in the Georgetown and South Park neighborhoods, which keep thousands of gallons of polluted runoff from reaching the Duwamish River each year.

Craig Cogger, Washington State University, Leader in Loop Biosolids Recycling

As a soil scientist with Washington State University, Craig Cogger has been helping King County’s Loop biosolids program make sound, evidence-based decisions for more than two decades. Cogger worked to develop nationwide guidelines for biosolids nutrient management, both to prevent runoff and to meet the nutrient requirements of the crop, documenting the significant benefits of biosolids recycling, including improved soil nutrients, crop quality, production economics, soil quality, and carbon sequestration.