HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL PR 2011-03-17 2011 Tolbert Awards
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
Smart’s Mill Middle School Teacher Natalie Pien and the
Smart’s Mill Ecology Club Receive 2011 Tolbert Environmental
Achievement Awards
Leesburg, VA (March 17, 2011) –
The Leesburg Environmental
Advisory Commission (EAC) is
pleased to announce the two
recipients of the 2011 Tolbert
Environmental Achievement
Awards. This awards program
recognizes students, community
groups, and individuals that
conduct or participate in activities
that benefit the Town’s
environment. The Leesburg Town
Council will present the awards at
the Council Meeting on Tuesday,
April 26, 2011.
The first 2011 Tolbert Award
recipient is Natalie Pien. Ms. Pien is a science teacher at Smart’s Mill Middle School in Leesburg
and sponsors the school’s Ecology Club. The EAC selected Mrs. Pien for her exemplary
leadership and for her dedication to community service on environmental projects. Ms. Pien
has led innovative environmental stewardship projects at Smart’s Mill Middle School to treat
polluted runoff before it enters Town streams and to create wildlife habitats. These projects
give students hands-on learning experiences about the effects of pollution of the local
environment. In addition, Ms. Pien volunteers her service on the Leesburg Watershed
Committee, assisted on several additional Town planting events to reduce pollutants in
stormwater runoff, and monitors local stream quality.
The second recipient of the 2011 Tolbert Award is the Smart’s Mill Middle School Ecology Club.
These students helped with several projects in the Town of Leesburg that protect the
environment and beautify the town. Examples of their work can be seen in the Freedom Park
rain garden; the flower and shrub plantings at what was a grassy island at the entrance to the
middle school; and in the recently-planted riparian buffer along Town Branch. Over the past
Natalie Pien (back row, 4th from the right) with members
of the Smart’s Mill Ecology Club (and parents) during their
April 2010 Keep Leesburg Beautiful landscaping project
TOL PR 2011-03-17 2011 Tolbert Awards
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several years, Ecology Club students have donated many hours to these projects as well as to
environmental education outreach efforts in the local community. In one of their outreach
efforts, the Club demonstrated the effects of water pollution through the use of watershed
models.
"The Environmental Advisory Commission is very pleased to recognize Ms. Pien and the Ecology
Club for their efforts,” said Neely Law, chair of the Leesburg Environmental Advisory
Commission. “We sincerely appreciate their time and effort to make a difference that benefits
the community and the environment specifically. Their efforts will be seen and appreciated
long into the future."
The EAC and the Leesburg Town Council will host a brief ceremony to present these two awards
on Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. The ceremony will take place at the beginning of the
Council’s regular meeting in the Council Chambers at Town Hall.
Contact:
Irish Grandfield
Senior Planner
igrandfield@leesburgva.gov
703-771-2766
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