The Board of Larimer County Commissioners, and the Environmental Science and Advisory Board honored three individuals/ organizations for their outstanding work with Environmental Stewardship in Larimer County at the 22nd annual Environmental Stewardship Awards. The award winners for 2018 are:
1. Estes Valley Watershed Coalition, a non-profit organization (Gary Miller, Lyndsay McFarland) comprised of Estes Valley citizens who volunteer their time to plan and implement watershed restoration projects. In 2017 the Coalition completed 14 mitigation and watershed improvement projects, costing more than $4 million. The result of their work has improved public safety and contributed to more resilient watersheds within the Estes Valley.
2. Bestway Painting owner Timothy Stolz in Estes Park, administers a program where he collects unused paint and stain for recycling. In 2017, he collected more than 70,000 lbs. of paint. Tim’s work has contributed much to improve water quality in the Estes Valley by keeping unwanted paints and stains out of the local waterways.
3. The Ridgeline Hotel in Estes Park integrates environmental stewardship through its GreenPathprogram. This includes using LED bulbs for all their lighting, offering a recycling program for glass, aluminum, batteries and more. They also educate their guests on the importance of water conservation and eliminate its food waste using a Food Waste Digester. Since February, they have digested 1.3 tons of food waste not sent to the Larimer County landfill.