3 Pittsburgh-area organizations win state environmental awards

A Westmoreland County organization and two in Allegheny County were among 18 people, organizations, businesses, and local governments that were awarded the 2019 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence.

The Allegheny Land Trust in Sewickley was recognized for its Greenprint Planning Tool; the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy got the award for the Frick Environmental Center in Squirrel Hill and the Westmoreland Conservation District in Hempfield was honored for its stormwater basin retrofitting educational video.

The Greenprint Planning Tool is an interactive online map that shows green space and environmental challenges, such as areas that may be prone to landslides and flooding in various neighborhoods.

The conservancy has expanded and diversified its environmental and sustainability education outreach by creating the first municipally owned, certified Living Building that’s free and open to the public. The building incorporates permeable pavement, rain barrels, stormwater retention beds and wastewater treatment.

The conservation district’s video illustrates the function, design, assessment, retrofitting, and maintenance of stormwater basins. During the workshops, 382 people saw the video and provided feedback on their understanding of how retrofitting, inspection, and maintenance impact water quality.

The Department of Environmental Protection received 28 applications for the awards. The department evaluated the projects for their degree of environmental protection, innovation, partnership efforts, economic impact, consideration of climate change, and sustainability and results achieved.