Wetlands Watch's Work Recognized by Foundation

L-R: Joe Maroon, Executive Director, Virginia Environmental Endowment; Bob Ake, Board Chair, Wetlands Watch; Skip Stiles, Executive Director, Wetlands Watch; Blair Wimbush, Board Member, Virginia Environmental Endowment.

Wetlands Watch was recognized as one of 22 "Partners in Excellence" by the Virginia Environmental Endowment in ceremony at the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond, VA. As part of its 40th Anniversary, VEE recognized its recipient organizations that excelled in a category of activity. Wetlands Watch was one of two groups recognized in the category of "Emerging Issues" for our work on sea level rise and a program to train landscape professionals in the use of nature-based solutions to stormwater and flood management.

VEE was one of the first foundations to fund our sea level rise work, providing support for our study on the private insurance industry as we explored the linkages between insurance and climate change. VEE also provided supporting funding for the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional program which is finishing its pilot phase and is 75% on its way to being self-supporting.

The award to Wetlands Watch read:

From its early beginnings as a watchdog on wetland losses in Hampton Roads to its current role as one of the state’s leading climate adaptation and resiliency advocates, Wetlands Watch is representative of small nonprofit organizations whose reputation, expertise, and influence continues to grow in Virginia and beyond. Recent VEE grants have supported its on-the-ground climate change work and its efforts to advance landscape conservation practices to deal with storm water runoff pollution and a Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional training and credentialing program.