Kennedy’s Environmental Management Branch developed the Sustainable Environment Awareness (SEA) Award in order to recognize exemplary achievement that advances sustainability at the spaceport. Environmental committee members vote on nominations and approve the awards, carefully assessing each nomination using a variety of criteria such as innovation, impact to NASA’s mission, outreach, teamwork and more.
The award itself emphasizes a dedication to reusing and recycling. Its palm tree design was created using the plate glass windows from Kennedy’s Launch Control Center firing rooms. Launch controllers and managers watched through these very windows as vehicles such as the Apollo/Saturn V and the space shuttle thundered into space. The windows were a permanent fixture in the LCC from 1963 until they were replaced in 2010.
There are 11 award categories: Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction, Sustainable Buildings, Clean and Renewable Energy, Water Use and Efficiency Management, Fleet Management, Sustainable Acquisition, Pollution Prevention and Waste Reduction, Energy Performance Contracts, Electronic Stewardship, and Climate Change Resilience and Tactical Support.
Awardees during Fiscal Year 2016 were:
Ground Processing Corrosion Preventive Compounds Team
Dr. Luz Marina Calle, Ph.D. and team for the implementation of environmentally friendly corrosion preventive compounds into KSC ground processing use.
Team members: Dr. Eliza Montgomery, Teresa Lawhorn, Bill Simmonds, Marian Poulin, Lisa Huddleston, Dr. Mark Kolody, Jerome Curran, and Teddy Back
Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts at KSC Inc., Solar Generator Team
Rob Jones and team for eliminating the use of diesel generators—thereby reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases—by purchasing a portable solar generator to provide power for parking attendants’ booths.
Team members: Tom Steiner, Terry Huckabee, and Rodney Stratton
Landfill Cover Team
Derick Fowler and team for pollution prevention and greenhouse gas emissions reduction by using roadside ditch soils as an alternative to borrow pit soils for providing landfill cover, restoring roadside shoulders, and backfilling areas cleared of nonnative trees.
Team members: Rodney Brown, Michael England, Frederick Holstein, Frederick Harrell, Kenny Mitchell, Timothy Slaughter, Randall Shocklee, Randy Trexler, Eugene Peeples, Mack Lane, Rodney Manning, Scott Smith, Jeff McDowell, Ryan Ostarly, Ron Traylor, and Erlyn Hupfer
Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts at KSC Inc., Car Charging Station Team
Edwin Morales and team for demonstrating NASA’s and Delaware North’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by supporting the use of alternative fuel vehicles with the installation of three electric vehicle charging stations at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
Team member: Gina Parrish
Kennedy Space Center Sustainability Report Team
Greg Harland and team for totally revamping the 2015 KSC Annual Sustainability Report to better highlight the great accomplishments of the sustainability and environmental teams throughout the year.
Team members: Anna Heiney and Greg Lee