2009 Environmental Award winners include local resident, manufacturing company
May 1, 2009
The winners of the 2009 Environmental Achievement Awards include two area residents, a local manufacturing company and the Trippe/Cravath Lake Improvement Committee for working tirelessly to improve the environment of Whitewater and its surrounding communities.
Steve Lewis, president of the Jefferson Development Corporation, was honored for his work in creating the Jefferson Area Business Center and using it as an incubator for start-up companies demonstrating green practices. He received first place in the individual category.
University of Wiscsonsin-Whitewater Social Work Professor Tim Reutebuch developed a community garden in Whitewater, using city land and providing compost, hay and water for families using the garden. Reutebuch is also developing a children's garden where children ages 3 to 12 meet on Saturdays to learn gardening. Reutebuch received honorable mention in the individual category.
Schenck Accurate, a Whitewater firm, leads its industry in manufacturing and supplying volumetric and gravimetric feeders that reduce waste and curb energy consumption. The company recently introduced an alternative fuel feeding system for cement manufacturers that uses plastic bottles, paper, tires or wood chips as fuel. Its owners note that replacing five tons per hour of fossil fuel with its waste alternative is equivalent to removing 20,000 cars from the road each year in terms of environmental impact. Schenck Accurate won first place in the company category.
The Trippe/Cravath Lake Improvement Committee is working to complete an aquatic plant inventory of Whitewater lakes that will be used to develop strategies to improve lake quality. It won honorable mention in the company category.
"The Environmental Achievement Awards are extremely important because they reflect the university's commitment to sustainability," said K. Praveen Parboteeah, chairman of the awards committee. "By celebrating those who dedicate significant effort and resources to environmental sustainability issues, we show that it is something that we value as a campus."
"Further, we hope the award will encourage others to start thinking of implementing measures dedicated toward sustainability and, finally, we hope the award serves as an inspiration to our students and the community," he added.
The awards were presented during UW-Whitewater’s Earth Day observances April 22.