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Philadelphia High School Student Wins Presidential Environmental Award

Release Date: 04/13/2011
Contact Information: Roy Seneca [email protected] (215)814-5567

PHILADELPHIA (April 13, 2011) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today presented high school senior Joy Best of Philadelphia with the EPA mid-Atlantic Region’s 2010 President’s Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) for coordinating a highly successful environmental awareness festival at a local library.

“Energetic students like Joy Best and all the young people who competed for the PEYA awards demonstrate the enthusiasm EPA needs to promote awareness of our nation’s environment,” said Shawn M. Garvin, regional administrator for EPA’s mid-Atlantic region. “Her community festival at the Wyoming Branch of the Philadelphia Library is just one of numerous inspirational projects from young environmental stewards throughout the mid-Atlantic region.”

Best designed and coordinated the Environmental Awareness Festival for students and adults in the Feltonville section of Philadelphia. The innovative project used youth-led research, displays, arts and crafts, and experiments to educate and inspire the community about environmental issues including water protection, solar energy, urban forestry and community gardens.

Best’s environmental festival was chosen from applications in the mid-Atlantic region that includes Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Applications were evaluated by a regional awards panel of EPA employees. All student participants receive a certificate signed by the President honoring them for their efforts to protect human health and the environment.

Best and 11 other students who assisted her, were recognized during the annual EPA-sponsored awards ceremony at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

Learn more about environmental education at: https://www.epa.gov/enviroed/ .