ESLC wins Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission
ESLC wins Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission
Queenstown, Maryland – Februray 8 ,2013 – Eastern Shore Land Conservancy Tuesday was awarded one of Maryland’s first Sustainable Growth Awards at the Governor Calvert House in Annapolis. The award program recognizes the people, projects and programs that model smart growth and sustainability in Maryland.
ESLC was honored for its town projects, which aim to give citizens the support they need to develop and implement visions for transforming their communities into vibrant, sustainable and well-defined places.
“Eastern Shore Land Conservancy is focused on helping to preserve and sustain the communities of the Eastern Shore,” said ESLC Community Design Manager Sarah Abel. “Our town efforts focus on working with members and leaders of communities to help keep our towns economically and socially vibrant through community design and planning. We cannot thank enough our elected and appointed leaders and members of all the communities who have welcomed us into their towns.”
ESLC’s town work is focused on ensuring that communities have the tools and assistance they need to realize their visions and helping those communities implement their visions. ESLC’s town work weaves together its planning and conservation expertise to serve more deeply a broader spectrum of the needs of Eastern Shore communities. It is based on fostering empowerment and engagement, following the philosophy that the best future plans come from the whole and from within the community. The goal of town work is to promote ecologically sustainable policies and practices on the Eastern Shore in service to the landscape.
“The intent of these awards is to help shed light on some of the exemplary work going on in Maryland to focus new growth in existing communities, to preserve sustainable places and to conserve Maryland’s rural and natural resource lands,” said Growth Commission Chairman Jon M. Laria. “I am thrilled by the quality of nominees that were put forward for the awards.”
Del. Addie Eckardt, R-37B-Talbot and Dorchester, and state Sen. Richard Colburn, R-37-Mid-Shore, presented the award to ESLC.
Christopher B. Leinberger, noted speaker and author on sustainable growth and walkable urban places, gave the keynote address for the program. He spoke on “Economic Growth through Smart Growth: How Smart Growth Makes Economic Sense for Maryland.” Mr. Leinberger is President of Locus, Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors and the Charles Bendit Distinguished Scholar and Research Professor, George Washington University School of Business, and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C.
Awards were presented for (1) leadership and service and (2) smart growth communities for public and private-sector projects or activities that improve the economy, the environment or the quality of life.
Nominated projects or programs must have completed within the last two years or be ongoing. Likewise, nominated persons must have been involved in the activity or service in question within the last two years or be ongoing. As part of its evaluation, the commission’s award committee assessed how the people, programs and projects – whether private or public – have helped further the 12 Planning Visions for sound growth and development policy.
The Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission advises the Governor, state agencies and the General Assembly on the progress of state, regional and local planning to achieve the goals of the economic growth, resource protection and planning policy in Maryland.