GreaterGood.org Awards Honor Nature’s Outstanding Voices, Diverse Advocates Inspire More Environmentally Friendly Actions

Nominations are Open and the First Round of Winners are Announced

Seattle, Wash., July 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The inaugural GreaterGood.org Nature’s Voice Awards, aiming to amplify the voice and impact of sustainability advocates across the globe, has opened nominations and announced its first round of winners. Award recipients recognized for their exemplary communication efforts include a Ugandan activist, an Ohio non-profit, an invertebrate conservationist and the Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter Vice-Chair.

GreaterGood.org, a charitable organization devoted to improving the health and well-being of people, pets, and the planet, and Nature's Logic, a 100% natural pet food with no synthetic vitamins, created the new awards program to recognize organizations and individuals that excel at inspiring action and can serve as best practice examples for other environmental voices to increase their own impact.

“We understand that strong voices for the environment are critical, now more than ever,” explained Liz Baker, CEO of GreaterGood.org. “This campaign celebrates organizations of all sizes across the world who innovate, inspire others, and amplify nature’s voice to help the earth.” 

Nominations will be accepted and award recipients will be announced from now until mid-August. The first round of outstanding and diverse voices to be recognized by the Nature’s Voice Awards include:

• Vanessa Nakate founded the Rise Up Climate Movement in order to amplify the voices of activists from Africa. She was also the First Fridays For Future climate activist in Uganda. Her work includes raising awareness for the dangers, causes and the impacts of climate change. She spearheaded the campaign Save Congo Rain Forest, which is facing massive deforestation. This campaign later spread to other countries from Africa to Europe. She is now working on a project that involves installation of solar and institutional stoves in schools.
• Green Columbus is a non-profit dedicated to promoting sustainable living, environmental education and community involvement in the Central Ohio community. The group has built and leveraged an extensive local network of volunteers that have given more than 100,000 hours of green citizen service in the Columbus area.
• Scott Black is an internationally renowned conservationist who has been at the forefront of the conservation movement for more than three decades. Scott’s work has led to protection and restoration of habitat on millions of acres of rangelands, forests, and farmland as well as protection for many endangered species. He has written more than two hundred articles and publications, and co-authored the best-selling Attracting Native Pollinators and Gardening for Butterflies. He is executive director of the Xerces Society, which under his leadership has become the premier invertebrate conservation organization in North America.
• Lucienne de Naie lives on a small East Maui farm. She works as policy analyst, project manager, community organizer and historical researcher and serves on many local non-profit boards. Lucienne is a frequent presenter on historical and water resource issues and is author of a report on Maui's water resources (2005) and a book on the history of Makena (2007).  She has hosted a popular community interview TV show on Maui’s public access station, Akakū, for nine years, and in 2019 was honored as part of the station’s annual “Walk of Heroes” event where Akakū “enshrines in the cement sidewalk fronting the station, the hand and footprints of four of Maui Nui’s favorite heroes.” Lucienne has served on a number of citizen planning committees including: Maui County General Plan Advisory Committee, Focus Maui Nu Advisory Committee and the Mayor’s Open Space Ordinance Advisory Committee. She is currently Vice-Chair of the Sierra Club, Hawaii Chapter; Secretary of Mālama Hamakua Maui; President of the Ha’iku Community Association; Vice President of Maui Tomorrow Foundation; on the board of Maui Nui Marine Resource Council and a founding board member of Hawaii Islands Land Trust and Maui Cultural Lands Land Trust.

Winners that demonstrate outstanding communication efforts – from social media to advertising to events and more – are selected via crowdsourced nominations reviewed by GreaterGood.org. Winners will receive national and local recognition, and, for non-profits, a $1,000 grant from GreaterGood.org. All winners receive a gift of Nature’s Logic 100% natural pet food for their pet-loving constituents, where available. 

One top winner, which will receive national recognition and a $10,000 grant from GreaterGood.org, will be selected from among the winners by a panel of judges active in the environmental sustainability sector. The panel includes: Patty Rose, Executive Director GreenHOME, member of the DC Green Building Council; Caitlyn Dudas, Executive Director, Pet Sustainability Coalition; Sarah Julian, Owner OffLeash Communications and Board member of the Pet Sustainability Coalition; Svanika Balasubramanian, Co-Founder & CEO rePurpose, creator of the Certified Plastic Neutral seal; Gillian Davies, Founding Co-Leader of Society of Wetland Scientists Climate Change and Wetlands Initiative; David Garfield Rolland, Media attorney, producer of Liam Neeson-narrated award-winning film, Love Thy Nature and other social mission films; Noah Horton, Chief Marketing Officer of GreaterGood.org; and Caroline Golon, VP Marketing for Nature’s Logic. Sustainability advocates and Nala Cat’s pet parents Shannon Ellis and Varisiri “Pookie” Methachittiphan serve as the nominating chairs of the Nature’s Voice Awards.

“There are so many groups and individuals doing truly extraordinary work in their communities and across the globe,” said David Yaskulka, CEO of Nature’s Logic. “We want to recognize advocates with voices inspiring more earth-friendly consumer, business, voter and community behavior.”

Nature’s Logic is a brand dedicated to sustainability, so sponsoring these awards aligns with their company’s mission. “We aspire to apply the logic of nature to everything we touch,” Yaskulka said. “Supporting environmental efforts is a cornerstone of our business.”  

Those efforts include buying 1 kWh of renewable energy for every pound of pet food the company sells. The energy Nature’s Logic purchases goes towards powering their headquarters with renewable energy, the manufacturing of their kibble and bags, and the operations of their partners, including GreaterGood.org.

GreaterGood.org is best known for its disaster relief efforts, as well as signature programs such as The Jackson Galaxy Project, Rescue Bank, Rescue Rebuild, Girls’ Voices, and more. For years, GreaterGood.org has focused on supporting and funding efforts around sustainability so these awards are another way the non-profit can support initiatives both small and large.   

“As a FEMA disaster relief partner, we see first-hand the worst of taking the earth for granted. What’s key to making sustainability efforts grow is communication,” said Baker. “Communication inspires action so more people get involved either by volunteering, donating or simply participating in activities that will make a difference. We believe this program can make a direct impact on changing behavior and doing better for our planet. And that’s the ultimate goal.”

Nominations can be made via naturesvoiceawards.org or by emailing naturesvoice@greatergood.org. The nomination period runs through August 17. The $10,000 grand prize winner will be announced in September.

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ABOUT GREATERGOOD.ORG
GreaterGood.org is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that works to improve the health and well-being of people, pets, and the planet. Over the last 12 years, GreaterGood.org has given over $250 million in cash and in-kind grants to over 3,000 charitable partners worldwide. To learn more, visit GreaterGood.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

ABOUT NATURE’S LOGIC
Founded in 2006, Nature’s Logic™ is a line of 100% natural, premium quality pet food and treats that contain NO synthetic vitamins or minerals and focus on the benefits of natural whole food nutrition. Because Nature’s Logic recipes are high in animal protein, they’re also high in natural taurine. Our mission is to apply the logic of nature to everything we touch, which means creating all natural nutrition from whole foods and being a voice for sustainability. The brand is a proud member of the Pet Sustainability Coalition and buys 1 kWh of renewable energy for every pound of pet food it sells. To learn more, visit: natureslogic.com. 

CONTACT: GreaterGood.org
press@greatergood.org