Vehicle Fleet Services team on stage accepting award

Winners of the 2024 Environmental Awards Announced at Earth Day Celebration

Awards honor those that make Raleigh a healthier, greener, and more sustainable city

News Published 4/22/2024 Updated 5/7/2024

During Raleigh's annual Earth Day Celebration, winners of the 2024 Raleigh Environmental Awards were recognized. Winners represent our community's dedication to climate action, environmental stewardship, innovation, and education.

The Raleigh Environmental Awards celebrate the best in climate action, community engagement, and corporate stewardship in our city. These winners represent the hard work of dozens of community members who make Raleigh a healthier, greener and more sustainable city.

This year's winners show a broad range of environmental actions, from using data to map urban heat to making environmental education fun to cleaning up watersheds. Each of these honorees is committed to environmental stewardship, and we thank them all for their work!

Two members of Walnut Creek Watershed Team pose with award with Raleigh skyline in background — The Raleigh Environmental Stewardship Award goes to the Walnut Creek Watershed Action Team for their work to improve environmental, social, and economic conditions in the Walnut Creek Watershed through education, outreach, and implementation of watershed improvement projects.

Karthik Jayakumar poses with award - Raleigh skyline in background — Karthik Jayakumar wins the first Community Action award for his usage of data and programming skills to promote more local food purchasing at NC State.

Two members of Wakeup Wake County pose with award with Raleigh skyline in background — The second Community Action Award goes to WakeUP Wake County for leading community discussion on the connection between affordable housing, transit, and land use and how all these have major environmental impacts.

Three members of Toward Zero Waste pose with award with Raleigh skyline in background. — Toward Zero Waste wins the Climate Action Award for Waste Reduction for increasing compost accessibility for Raleigh residents.

Three members of South Wake Conservationists pose with award — The Climate Action Award for Education goes to South Wake Conservationists for engaging Raleigh residents in nature and environmental topics.

Four members of Office of Sustainability and Solarize the Triangle pose with the award — The City of Raleigh's Office of Sustainability, in partnership with 12 local governments in the Triangle and over 20 community partners, win the Climate Action Award for their record breaking program, Solarize the Triangle, which helped residents and businesses get solar at a lower cost.

Two members of IT department pose with award — The Climate Action Award for Land Use & Equity goes to the City of Raleigh’s IT/GIS Team for their excellent data and maps depicting heat in Raleigh.

Three members of Nuvoda pose with award. — Nuvoda wins the Business Innovation for Environmental Stewardship for their innovative technology and solutions for treating wastewater.

Two members of NCSU Make-a-thon team pose with award — The Next Generation of Environmental Leaders Award goes to NC State Make-A-Thon, an annual 3-day competition where students engage in sustainability topics, problem solving, and collaboration.

Raleigh's Vehicle Fleet Services team poses with the award with Raleigh skyline in background. — The City of Raleigh’s Vehicle Fleet Services wins the Dare to Be Green Award for their innovative usage of Renewable Propane in the City’s Fleet.

Not pictured: Paul Clark, winner of the Commute Smart Award

Capture It! Stormwater Arts Contest Winners

Raleigh’s Stormwater Division hosts the Capture it! Stormwater Art Contest annually for Raleigh eighth through twelfth graders to submit artwork with messaging around water quality. The 2024 winners are:

Art Winners

Artwork shows city skyline with water faucets leaking water, human hands catching droplets, and animals reaching for droplets with a river in background. — "The Journey of Water Drops" by Lisa Wang

Lisa Wang poses in front of Raleigh skyline — Lisa Wang (12th grade) created “The Journey of Water Drops” which is a dynamic drawing that shows how stormwater runoff carries a variety of pollutants, such as fertilizers, litter, chemicals, and more, directly into our waterways and how it poses a threat to wildlife in Raleigh.

One half showcases the effects of healthy water in the Neuse and the environment around it. The other half portrays what the Neuse may become if proper action isn't taken to maintain its health. — "What Could Be" by Rhys and Jayda Price

Rhys Price and Jayda Price pose in front of Raleigh skyline. — Rhys Price and Jayda Price created “What Could Be” which is a scenery divided into two parts. One half showcases the effects of healthy water in the Neuse and the environment around it. The other half portrays what the Neuse may become if proper action isn't taken to maintain its health.

AJ Toler poses in front of Raleigh skyline — AJ Toler created a video titled “The Scoop on Poop” with her dog as the star actor. She found a creative and light-hearted way to spread awareness about the consequences of leaving dog poop on the ground and how it can impact our local waterways.

Winning Video

2024 Capture It! Arts Contest Winner

Trashion Competition Winners

The Trashion Show, hosted by Raleigh’s Solid Waste Services department, is part of the annual City of Raleigh Environmental Awards ceremony to highlight recycled garments and accessories created by high school and college students, as well as aspiring professional designers in the Raleigh area. The Trashion Design Competition provides an opportunity to showcase unique and recycled-inspired garments created from items that would otherwise be disposed of in the trash. Below are the 2024 winners.