Jim Peugh honored with Lighthouse Lifetime Achievement Award
SAN DIEGO, June 4, 2013 – This morning, San Diego Coastkeeper presented Coastal Champion awards to seven environmental leaders across San Diego County for their efforts to protect fishable, swimmable and drinkable waters. Hosted at Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in honor of World Oceans Day, Coastkeeper’s yearly awards program honored individuals and organizations for their contributions in the categories of Runoff Rockstar, Find & Fix, Water Wise, Blue Tech, Lighthouse Lifetime Achievement, Volunteer of the Year and ASBS Special Recognition.
The 2013 Coastal Champions include:
• Jim Peugh, Lighthouse Lifetime Achievement: for his lifetime worth of achievements and commitment to clean water that include advocating for the preservation and restoration of wetland and upland habitat that provides for thousands of birds and hundreds of species and improves water quality. Throughout the years, Jim Peugh has been on countless boards and committees that advocate only the best for San Diego County’s water.
• Taya Lazootin, Runoff Rockstar, creator of Students against Neglect and Debris (SAND): for developing a program where students and their families can participate in city cleanups and receive lessons on land-use impacts, urban runoff and stormwater pollution.
• An Anonymous Resident, ASBS Special Recognition: for taking the initiative to reach out to San Diego Coastkeeper after seeing local storm drains in La Jolla were almost completely clogged with sand, mud and plants. Thanks to this local action, San Diego Coastkeeper worked with the City of San Diego Transportation and Stormwater Department to quickly implement a solution.
• Operation Clean Sweep, Find & Fix: for their its bay-wide cleanup around Port Tidelands where their more than a thousands of volunteers, organized by the San Diego Port Tenants Association, were able to removed 48,000 pounds of waste in 2012 from nine different locations.
• Russell Moore, Blue Tech, of Xplore Offshore: for his innovative boat design in his boat to be Coast Guard certified to provide guests with unique tours and to collect trash and keep a watchful eye for suspicious activities around the La Jolla reserves.
• Josh Robinson, Water Wise, of San Diego Sustainable Living Institute: for developing creative, new ways for San Diegans to install greywater systems in their homes.
• Noah Thoron, Coastkeeper’s Volunteer of the Year 2013: for his continued success in San Diego Coastkeeper’s water quality lab the past three years. This technical water wizard has successfully draewn plans and secured funding for a homemade automated sampling device budgeted around $500 – a fraction of the cost from purchasing one forretail cost of $7,000.
The award winners received a hand-made glass sculpture depicting one of the beautiful sea creatures that their work helps to protect. James Stone of Stone and Glass designed, created and generously donated the award sculptures to commemorate his dedication to the ocean.
Funding for this project has been provided in full or in part through an agreement with the State Water Resources Control Board as well as generous contributions from host Birch Aquarium at Scripps and Stone and Glass. For more information about San Diego Coastkeeper and the event, please visit localhost/sdcoastkeeper.
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SAN DIEGO COASTKEEPER: Founded in 1995, San Diego Coastkeeper protects and restores fishable, swimmable and drinkable waters in San Diego County. Visit us online at https://www.sdcoastkeeper.org.
