The Environmental & Waste Management Services Division's Jason Remien and Melanie Thiesen were among volunteers who collected pledges to benefit the Foundation for Ecological Research in the Northeast at BNL's annual Earth Week Environmental Pledge Tree.

Celebrations for Earth Week, April 21-25, were organized by the Environmental & Waste Management Services Division (EWMS) with the help of many volunteers around the Lab.

Some highlights included the more than $1,800 collected from Environmental Pledge Tree pledges, with the proceeds forwarded to the Foundation for Ecological Research in the Northeast (FERN). A large audience attended the Brookhaven Lecture/Earth Week talk on a "Grand Solar Plan," by Vasilis Fthenakis of the Energy Sciences & Technology Department. A later talk by Rosemary Weisner of Brookhaven Town gave ideas on how to prepare "Garbage-Free Takeout Lunch."

BNL kicked off its first-ever Energy Challenge, in which buildings will compete against each other to see how much energy they can conserve. At the annual Office Swap, over 75 percent of the items collected were recycled throughout the Lab, and National Synchtrotron Light Source members saved over $1,000 by finding items at the swap that are regularly used in the department. The Environmental Vendor Fair was well attended and featured great giveaways. The hybrid vehicle display was informative and also well attended. To round off the week, EWSD members and other Lab volunteers set up and staffed a BNL booth with interactive displays at the two-day Heckscher State Park Spring Festival, hosted by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historical Preservation in honor of Earth Day.

Earth Day Awards Ceremony

Kyra Moosemueller from the West Middle Island Elementary School wins a prize for her poster on the theme of energy conservation.

At BNL on April 24, an enthusiastic audience gathered in Berkner Hall for the annual Earth Day Awards Ceremony. All were welcomed by George Goode, manager of the Environmental & Waste Management Services Division. Michael Holland, manager of the DOE Brookhaven Site Office was also present. Goode presented Environmental Stewardship awards to employees who made outstanding contributions in pollution prevention, recycling, waste minimization, energy, conservation, compliance, or resource conservation, and also gave awards to children from local elementary schools for their Earth Day posters on the theme of energy conservation.

A special highlight was the Office of Science award presented by Holland to BNL senior scientist Betsy Sutherland for a new pollution-prevention technique developed in her research.