Teresa Patterson of the Trinity Coalition navigates a stretch of the Trinity River National Water Trail. The project will be honored at the 10th annual Green Source DFW Sustainable Leadership Awards on Nov. 18 on Zoom. Photo courtesy of Teresa Patterson.

Nov. 12, 2021

The local Green Oscars are coming up and we’re spilling the beans on who won.

The 10th annual Green Source DFW Sustainable Leadership Awards will be held Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. on Zoom

The event, hosted by Green Source DFW and our parent nonprofit The Memnosyne Institute, honors outstanding leaders and volunteers in the North Texas green community.

This is the second year the awards will be held virtually due to the pandemic. But we're changing things up and for the first year in the history of the awards, we’re announcing the winners prior to the celebration.

Below are the GSDFW 2021 Award Winners.

CONSERVATION ACTIVIST

Marcie Haley will receive the Conservation Activist Award for her work developing and maintaining the 5-acre Twelve Hills Nature Center.

Twelve Hills Nature Center

Watch a video about the origins of Twelve Hills. Courtesy of TWNC.

The green oasis, located in the heart of Oak Cliff in Dallas, was established in 2005 on a site where a dilapidated apartment complex once stood. Today it's a respite for residents and local wildlife and a living education center for area youth.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Tiara ChapmanTiara Chapman will receive the Environmental Justice Award. Courtesy of Tiara Chapman.

Tiara Chapman, co-leader of the Dallas network for the nationwide nonprofit Outdoor Afro, will receive the Environmental Justice Award for her work inspiring Black connections and leadership in nature."

"In her outreach with Outdoor Afro, she instigates guided walks, camping trips, workshops, and more from a deep belief that everyone needs access to nature and recognition that they are essential to the naturalist community," said her nominator.

She's also the City of Lewisville Nature Programs Coordinator and manages five part-time educators and 120 volunteers.

"Her enthusiasm is contagious whether working with toddlers, school kids or adults," said Sue Yost, LLELA volunteer.

GREEN PROJECT

Trinity Coalition water trail team. Photo by Alex DubovskyThe Trinity Coalition Water Trail Team: From left, Kristi Kerr Leonard, Teresa Patterson, Steve Smith, Dale Harris, and Alex Dubovsky. Photo by Alex Dubovsky.

The Dallas-based Trinity Coalition is receiving the Green Project Award for their efforts to create the Trinity River National Water Trail

The paddling trail features 21 launch spots on 130 miles of trail across DFW. See the interactive Trinity River National Water Trail map.

"The Trinity Coalition's ultimate goal is to develop North Texas as a nature tourism destination, showing that preserving nature and providing trails has economic benefits," said Green Source reporter Amy Martin. "The nonprofit views the Trinity River Paddling Trail as anchoring their long-term vision of coordinating thousands of acres of public natural space along the river into an attraction marketed as Trinity Nature Park." 

Read more about how the paddling trail came about.

Lucas Styrofoam drop offVOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

Victoria Howard will receive the Coke Buchanan Volunteer of the Year Award. Courtesy of Turn Lucas Green.

The Coke Buchanan Volunteer of the Year Award goes to Victoria Howard, leader of the Dallas Sierra Club's Conservation/Eco Action Committee.

Howard and her team take on the toughest local environmental battles in North Texas, including the Lane Plating Superfund site and lead contamination in Garland.

Howard is also the founder of Save Lucas Recycling/Turn Lucas Green, which reinstated curbside recycling for Lucas residents and offers a monthly Styrofoam drop-off site.

Haley SamselENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING

Haley Samsel will receive the Environmental Reporting Award. Courtesy of Haley Samsel.

The Environmental Reporting Award goes to Haley Samsel, environmental reporter for the Star-Telegram. Since being hired in 2020, Samsel has vigorously covered environmental issues in Tarrant County. Her wide-ranging reporting has brought attention to everything from tree preservation to local air quality.

NEXT GENERATION

Sahan YerramSahan Yerram will receive the Next Generation Award. Courtesy of Sahan Yerram.

The Next Generation Award goes to Sahan Yerram, who launched a student Sierra Club at Coppell High School. He's spearheaded the installation of a school garden and compost bins. The team is also in the process of petitioning to get solar energy, expand their plantings and are working to eliminate styrofoam from the cafeteria.

Connemara MeadowUNSUNG HERO

The Unsung Hero Award goes Bob Mione, volunteer manager for the 72-acre Connemara Meadow in Allen. Over the past decade, he's been leading the restoration of the meadow's Blackland prairie. He has also been very involved working to reintroduce Bobwhite quail to Collin County.

"There are few others who have given as much of their time, energy, and passion to restoring the Blackland Prairie in the DFW area than Bob Mione," said one of his nominators.

"He leads by example. You can not go out there without finding Bob with a shovel in his hand or leading a group through the chest high wildflowers," said a second nominator. "The world needs more people like Bob."

Kevin SloanLIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Kevin Sloan will be honored posthumously. Courtesy of Facebook.

Finally, the Lifetime Achievement Award wiil be given posthumously to Dallas landscape architect Kevin Sloan. He died last month at age 63 after a battle with cancer. Sloan has been the eco-friendly visionary behind such projects as Airfield Falls Conservation Park in Fort Worth and Vitruvian Park in Dallas. He's also been an influencial proponet of keeping the Trinity River park project natural. A Dallas park is being named after the crusader of "rewilding."

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

The presentation of our winners will be followed by our keynote speaker, Lance Tahmahkera. The Fort Worth native is the great-great grandson of Comanche Chief Quanah Parker. Tahmahkera will share stories of his ancestors and his Comanche heritage. Read more about Lance Tahmahkera.

Until then, we invite you help us celebrate these outstanding leaders in the green movement in North Texas. Please RSVP for the event on our Facebook page. We hope to see you there!

GSDFW Award10th Annual Green Source DFW Sustainable Leadership Awards

About: The annual awards, hosted by Green Source DFW and the Memnosyne Institute, honors outstanding leaders and volunteers in the North Texas green community. Sponsors are Dallas College and John and Margie Haley.
When: Nov. 18 at 6 p.m.
Where: Zoom. Join here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89938890605
Keynote Speaker: Lance Tahmahkera, the great-great grandson of Comanche Chief Quanah Parker, will share stories of his ancestors and his Comanche heritage. Read more about Lance Tahmahkera.
Cost: Free
Info: Julie@GreenSourceDFW.org
Website


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