Fox Chapel Honored by the Shapiro Administration with the 2024 Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence!

Shapiro Administration Honors 22 Projects Statewide with 2024 Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence
Projects include streambank restoration efforts, tree planting, environmental conservation in environmental justice communities, and many more projects.

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is honoring 22 projects completed by schools, businesses, and community organizations around the state with 2024 Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence. 

“This year’s Environmental Excellence honorees showcase the innovative ways we can protect our environment and shape a more sustainable future here in Pennsylvania,” DEP Interim Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. “Together, we will spur the next generation of environmental stewards, and these projects represent our ability to work together and preserve Pennsylvania’s natural resources.” 

Applications were evaluated for their degree of environmental protection, innovation, partnership, economic impact, consideration of climate change, sustainability, and environmental justice, as well as outcomes achieved. 

Fox Chapel Area School District, Audubon Society of Western PA, Allegheny County Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America, and Fox Chapel Borough Parks Commission and Public Works Department
The Second Graders Restoring Habitat at Salamander Park project is a joint recognition project that integrated a local school district with nonprofit environmental groups. The project empowered over 300 second-grade students to enhance a local habitat by planting over 300 trees to improve the riparian habitat of Sycamore Run. This multi-sector partnership engaged students, teachers, nonprofit organizations, and community volunteers to plant over 1,500 native trees.