The Environmental Protection Agency honored the Environmental Living and Learning for Maine Students (ELLMS) project with an Environmental Merit Award in a ceremony in Boston on April 22. The EPA’s Region 1 (New England) Office confers Environmental Merit Awards on “individuals, organizations, businesses and government agencies for their environmental stewardship, activism, support and dedication to environmental progress in New England.” ELLMS is a collaborative project of five residential environmental learning centers in Maine: Chewonki, The Ecology School in Saco, Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park in Winter Harbor, University of Maine 4-H Center at Bryant
heather lowe Photo
Photo CourteSy oF the ePa – region 1 oFFiCe
EPA honors ELLMS with Environmental Merit Award
Pictured are Deborah Szaro, ePa region 1 deputy regional administrator; ryder Scott, director of the uMaine 4-h Centers; willard Morgan, president of Chewonki; Drew Dumsch, executive director of the ecology School; Curt Spaulding, ePa regional administrator; and Carl Dierker, ePa regional Counsel.
Pond, and University of Maine 4-H Center at Tanglewood in Lincolnville. The partnership raises funds to help public schools in Maine send their students, primarily low-income children, to ELLMS centers for outdoor learning about the natural world. In his remarks congratulating the winners, Curtis Spalding, Regional Administrator, said, “We live in a time
where our environmental challenges are paramount. We have an obligation to leave our kids with a safe, healthy environment to live in. That means we must come together, be creative, and implement sustainable, cost-effective environmental solutions.” Three representatives from the ELLMS collaborative, including Willard Morgan of Chewonki, received the award.