Those dedicated to restoring Richmond’s historical creeks – Wildcat, San Pablo, Rheem, Baxter and others – won top awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency yesterday.

Lisa Viani, recently recognized by the Contra Costa Women’s Commission annual Women’s Hall of Fame in the category “Women Preserving the Environment.” swept the field in northern California for the EPA awards. Lisa is the co-founder of the Friends of Baxter Creek (http://www.creativedifferences.com/baxtercreek) and, among many other projects, has been instrumental in the restoration of Baxter Creek at Booker T. Anderson Park in Richmond.

The Aquatic Outreach Institute (http://www.aoinstitute.org), based at the U.C. Richmond Field Station, was also recognized for its work on San Pablo Creek.

The following article appeared in today’s West County Times:

EPA honors bestowed on Richmond: Resident Lisa Viani was the only Northern Californian to win the award; Aquatic Outreach group was also lauded
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Posted on Fri, Jun. 07, 2002

SAN FRANCISCO - A Richmond resident and a Richmond-based program were among the 35 regional winners U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials honored Thursday for their efforts to protect and preserve the environment.

Richmond resident Lisa Viani was the only Northern Californian to be honored this year. She was selected for her work to protect and restore creek and marsh habitat in Richmond and El Cerrito, particularly Baxter Creek, Rheem Creek and the San Pablo Bay estuary in the North Shoreline area.

The Aquatic Outreach Institute, based in Richmond, was honored for its teacher workshops that involved more than 270 educators from four counties in the Kids in Creeks, Kids in Gardens and Watching Our Watersheds programs.

The institute, which is in its fifth year as a nonprofit organization, also distributed $40,000 in grants to help teachers develop pollution prevention programs involving students, families and community members in reducing urban runoff.

The EPA also recognized Berkeley's Energy Office for its efforts in reducing carbon dioxide emissions and cutting electricity use through education, community programs and retrofitting city facilities.

Other Bay Area winners were the City CarShare program based in San Francisco, which allows members to share vehicles, and the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, which reduced pesticide and fertilizer use as well as trash disposal by updating its facilities practices.