<Watershed Heroes Awards>

Each year MCWD recognizes community members who have made significant contributions or accomplishments that improve the quality of water, quality of life in the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District.
Image_watershed Heroes 2010 invite cover
Award Categories and Criteria

Past Watershed Heroes

2010 Watershed Heroes Award Recipients
2010 Press Release
2010 Awards Ceremony Details

MCWD Watershed Heroes Award Categories and Criteria

Excellence in Development Award

Given to a development that successfully protects water quality through the use of Low Impact Development, innovative stormwater management, and natural resource conservation techniques in the Minnehaha Creek Watershed.

Innovation in Government Award

Given to a government body or individual that has implemented innovative policies, programs, or projects to protect and improve quality of water, quality of life in the Minnehaha Creek Watershed.

Outstanding Partner Award

Given to an individual or group who has effectively leveraged their assets in partnership with the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District to achieve exceptional results in natural resource management.

Youth Naturalist Award

Given to a young person or group of young people who have demonstrated excellent commitment to the environment.

Citizen Engagement Award

Given to an individual or organization that effectively engaged citizen participation and initiative in efforts to improve natural resources in the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District.

Outstanding Contribution Award

Given to an individual or group who has made an outstanding contribution that resulted in the protection or improvement of natural resources in the Minnehaha Creek Watershed.

Lifetime Stewardship Award

Given to an individual who has, during his or her lifetime, played a significant and lasting role in watershed management and demonstrated leadership in natural resources stewardship.

2010 Watershed Heroes

October 8, 2010

The 2010 Watershed Heroes Awards Ceremony will be held on Friday, October 8, 2010. Event Details

Image of Watershed Heroes Award Invitation Cover

Duke Realty	Excellence in Development	For their innovative runoff-reducing features on the West End development in St. Louis Park to substantially decrease pollutant laden runoff, to improve water quality downstream.
City of Minneapolis	Innovation in Government	For their sustainability initiative, linking health, economy and the environment and by targeting key areas and the interdepartmental teams' creative approaches to problem solving. They have demonstrated leadership through aggressive goals and actions.
Tina Plant of Hedberg Landscape & Masonry Supplies and the Go Blue! Team	Outstanding Partner	For spearheading the Go Blue! Diamond Lake Community Makeover project, bringing together community, business, and government partners in an effort to improve water quality by providing grant funded clean water project opportunities.
Metro Blooms	Citizen Engagement	For strengthening communities through education and technical assistance. They empower citizens to take action for clean water by building raingardens and other clean water landscape features.
MCWD Rule Making Task Force	Outstanding Contribution	For this citizen-based group spent considerable time and effort - exceeding the process outlined in the law –to shape rule language that provides greater natural resource protection and streamlined regulatory administration in a cost-effective and reasonable way.
Ginny Black	Lifetime Stewardship	For her 15 years of service on the Plymouth City Council, supporting sustainable practices at city hall and throughout the community. She promotes clean water, recycling, and green building through increasing community awareness and promoting real change. In addition to her professional career as organics recycling coordinator at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Ginny has served on the MCWD’s Rule Making Task Force and is the council liaison to the Plymouth Environmental Quality Committee.

Past Watershed Heroes

October 23, 2009

The 2009 Watershed Heroes Awards Ceremony was held onFriday, October 23, 2009.

Press Release - MCWD Announces 2009 Watershed Heroes

Stonehenge USA	Excellence in Development Award	For their contribution in responsibly managing rain water run-off to protect downstream water resources.
City of Mound	Innovation in Government Award	For their progressive efforts when redeveloping their downtown to reduce nutrient loading to local lakes.
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company	Outstanding Partner Award	For their partnership with MCWD in their “Join Us Out Here” campaign for the 3rd annual Minnehaha Creek clean-up event on July 12, 2009.
“KICK”: The Keep It Clean Kids	Youth Naturalist Award	For their clean up efforts and education of water issues in Plymouth including a film.
Mike Shouldice, Victoria, MN	Citizen Engagement Award	For his efforts in natural resource preservation in and around the City of Victoria. He spearheaded the formation of the Schutz Lake Association, organized a lake clean-up with area citizens, and collected volunteers to plant trees as well as helping engage local citizens in lake protection and improvement activities.
Mary Nolte, Fulton Neighborhood Association	Outstanding Contribution	For her efforts to promote and support improved rain water management by households in the Fulton Neighborhood. She is the chair of the FNA Environment Committee which sponsored 23 rain gardens in the rainwater management program from 2003 to 2007.
Gabriel Jabbour, Orono, MN	Lifetime Stewardship	For his work as a community leader and advocate for Lake Minnetonka as a public resource for all generations to freely enjoy. He coordinated and was involved in several multi-agency partnerships for the creation of public access points to the Lake, public ownership of Big Island, and creation of the Dakota Rail Regional Trail.

September 26, 2008

The Award Ceremony was held at Bayview Events Center on Lake Minnetonka on September 26, 2008.

View Call for Nominations Press Release
View Award Announcement of Awards Press Release
View Photos

Methodist Hospital	Excellence in Development	For their use of innovative stormwater management in the re-development of their campus, for their partnership in restoring ecological integrity to Minnehaha Creek, and for increasing access to the creek and associated wetlands.
City of Minnetonka	Innovation in Government	For their land conservation program, and for their commitment to environmental restoration and protection in their development and redevelopment efforts.
Bachman's	Outstanding Partner	For featuring displays and demonstrations sites that highlight attractive and innovative stormwater management techniques that homeowners can install.
Dave Oltmans & the Friends of Diamond Lake	Citizen Engagement	For their efforts to engage citizens to protect and improve waters in Minneapolis, including Diamond Lake.
Sandy Colvin Roy	Outstanding Contribution	For her leadership in the City of Minneapolis implement innovative projects that protect and improve the city’s lakes and streams, her efforts with the National League of Cities to promote watershed management and for her own advocacy efforts to bring awareness and common-sense solutions to stormwater management issues.
Woody Love	Lifetime Stewardship	For overall vision and leadership in protecting and managing water resources at the local government level, and for leadership with various organizations, including MCWD, Minnesota Association of Watershed Districts,and the City of Shorewood.

October 26, 2007

The Award Ceremony a "Blue Tie Gala" was held at the Lafayette Club on Lake Minnetonka on October 26, 2007.

View Press Release

Locust Hills Development, LLC	Excellence in Development	For their use of conservation design and innovative stormwater management, and for their proactive efforts to involve government agencies in the design process.
City of Orono	Innovation in Government	For their implementation of the District’s first wetland protection ordinance in the 1980’s, and their initiative and hard work to form a partnership to acquire the Big Island property.
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum	Outstanding Partner	For partnerships with the MCWD in watershed management and water quality education, including the Spring Peeper Meadow wetland restoration, the Watershed Demonstration Parking Lot, and the Low Impact Development Conference held in 2006.
Gleason Lake Environmental Ambassadors	Youth Naturalist	For their efforts to educate others about environmental issues through their restaurant table tent program and outreach work at community events.
Nokomis East Neighborhood Association	Citizen Engagement	For their initiative in starting the Blue Water Partnership and for restoring the shoreline of Lake Nokomis and an adjacent prairie.
Raymond Haik	Outstanding Contribution	For his role in the initial development of watershed law, which led to the founding of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District forty years ago, and for his early commitment, guidance and counseling of the District through many initial projects.
Richard G. Gray, Sr., P Sc and Richard P. Caldecott, Ph.D.	Lifetime Stewardship	For co-founding the Gray Freshwater Biological Institute (GFBI) and their pioneering water quality research.

October 28, 2004

# 6 of the Church of the Good Shepard
# 110 of Mount Olivet Lutheran Church
# 196 of Diamond Lake Lutheran Church

For removing more than 1,100 pounds of waste and debris from a stretch of Minnehaha Creek.

December 19, 2002

Representative Wes Skolglund Representative Dennis Ozment Senator Julie Sabo	For helping to protect the water resources of Camp Coldwater Springs through their legislative efforts and leadership on the springs issues.
Victor Gilbertson, local painter and retired architect	For immortalizing the bridges and the natural environment along Minnehaha Creek in book of collected watercolor paintings, Watercolors of Bridges over Minnehaha Creek.

April 26, 2001

Nina Cole, Valley View Middle School
Elizabeth Crist, Valley View Middle School

For their vigilance in discovering a puddle of mercury adjacent to Minnehaha Creek and contacting the Pollution Control agency for emergency containment and removal.