Sister Amelia Stenger, director of development, accepts the KY EXCEL Champion Award on behalf of the Ursuline Sisters from Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear, left, during an awards luncheon on Sept. 27.
The Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph were honored with the KY EXCEL Champion Award by the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection for their recycling efforts.
The Ursuline Sisters were among six recipients of the 2011 Environmental Excellence Awards during an awards luncheon Sept. 27 at the Governor’s Conference on Energy and the Environment at the Lexington Convention Center. The awards were presented by Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear.
Through this awards program, the department recognized the efforts and activities of individuals, businesses and organizations that are committed to protecting and improving Kentucky’s environment.
The Ursuline Sisters were honored because they recycled 16,000 pounds of materials between September 2010 and July 2011, including newspapers, cardboard, galvanized cans, office paper, aluminum cans, plastic and magazines. The Ursuline Sisters set a new recycling goal of 20,000 pounds for the coming year. The Ursuline Sisters have worked for more than 25 years to become Earth-friendly and educate others about sustainability.
Sister Amelia Stenger, director of development, accepted the award on behalf of the Ursuline Sisters.
Other winners of the award included Smithfield-Team Middlesboro, for cleaning debris from a creek; Charles D. Williams of Munfordville, who promotes sustainable forest practices; Life Adventure Center of the Bluegrass, Versailles, a 575-acre farm that offers environmental learning for children and adults; The Green Building, Louisville, a former dry goods store that was resuscitated with ecofriendly materials; and International Paper, Henderson, which uses 100 percent recycled paper to produce containerboard.