To raise awareness about the importance of the Great Lakes to Wisconsin’s culture and economy, Wisconsin Sea Grant announced today it will confer a Great Lakes Champion Award this summer. A call for nominations is now open at seagrant.wisc.edu/championaward.
Those eligible for the award are any group, program, organization, or individual that displays:
- A demonstrated commitment to the Great Lakes through some or all of these factors: dedicated actions, facilitated education or enacted policies that have resulted in the conservation and sustainable use of lakes Michigan and Superior, and the rest of the basin, if applicable.
- Long-term consistent care and concern for the Great Lakes in keeping with the Wisconsin Sea Grant mission—promoting the sustainable use of the Great Lakes through research, education and outreach. As well as in support of the program’s vision statement—thriving coastal communities.
- Leadership in some or all of the following areas: cultivating freshwater partnerships; fostering collaborative action on behalf of Great Lakes issues; enhancing environmental justice, diversity and inclusion in the basin, or service built upon trust and transparency.
- A contribution to accomplishments in some or all of Sea Grant’s focus areas: healthy coastal ecosystems, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, resilient communities and economies and/or environmental literacy and workforce development.
The award is given every two years. In 2021, Brown County Port and Resource Recovery Department Director Dean Haen was selected.
Dean Haen, winner of the 2021 Great Lakes Champion Award and director of the shipping port in Green Bay.
This will be the second time the award is presented; and it will occur at an event to be held in Milwaukee in August. Nominations are due at midnight, CT, June 14, through an online portal accessible through the website with other competition details,seagrant.wisc.edu/championaward
