Pictured, top left, from left to right, Tom Gilbert, PA Environmental Council; Elizabeth Hughes, Earth Conservancy; Jessica Shirley, PADEP; Cindy Adams Dunn, PADCNR.
Earth Conservancy was proud to be recognized with a 2025 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence for our WeReclaim! program. The award, presented by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, celebrates innovative projects that promote environmental stewardship and sustainability across the Commonwealth. We were thrilled to join fellow honorees in Harrisburg to celebrate the inspiring work happening throughout Pennsylvania.
WeReclaim! launched in 2023 as a creative, place-based education initiative that connects elementary and middle school students to the environmental issues affecting their own communities – especially those related to legacy coal mining. Through interactive sessions, students learn about local ecology, industrial history, and land reclamation, then use their creativity to envision a better future through mixed-media artwork.
This program wouldn’t be possible without the dedication and insight of our partners: the SHINE After School Program of Luzerne County, which has helped bring WeReclaim! to schools throughout the region; and the Interdependence Hexagon Project, which fosters youth expression on challenging issues through the visual arts.
Most importantly, we are continually inspired by the students who participate in WeReclaim! Their creativity, thoughtfulness, and genuine concern for the environment give us hope. We’re excited to continue this collaboration in the coming school year and can’t wait to see where the students lead us next.
Congratulations to all the other awardees! It’s heartening to see so many powerful examples of what’s possible when we invest in environmental education, community engagement, and a more sustainable future.