W&L, VMI Share Conservation Award
The Garden Club of Virginia has awarded its 2015 Elizabeth Cabell Dugdale Award for Meritorious Achievement in Conservation to Washington and Lee University.
The award recognized W&L’s creation of its Office of Sustainability Initiatives and Education and “remarkable progress toward energy efficiency and conservation.”
“Most prominent is W&L’s installation of solar panels on the law school and parking garage. This was the largest solar installation in Virginia when it was installed in 2012. Some of W&L’s recent accomplishments include a Campus Garden, a Composting Program, a Sustainability Development House, Energy Audits, a Recycling Program, a Green Office Initiative, numerous campus activities that offer engagement with student groups, and its University Sustainability Committee,” the club said in a news release.
W&L shares the 2015 award with Virginia Military Institute, which was noted for its stewardship of the Chessie Nature Trail, as well as energy, conservation and sustainability initiatives.
The Garden Club of Virginia exists “to celebrate the beauty of the land, to conserve the gifts of nature and to challenge future generations to build on this heritage.” The conservation award was first presented in 1974. In 1989, it was named for Mrs. Arthur A. Dugdale of the Ashland Garden Club, an outstanding member of the club. It is presented to an organization, industry or an individual who is not a club member for outstanding work in conservation.
