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EPA Presents President's Environmental Youth Awards; Staten Island Student Honored

Release Date: 04/23/1998
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(#98037) New York, N.Y. -- Christina Martini, a seventh grader from Staten Island, New York was honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with a U.S. President's Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) for her efforts to restore the salt marshes of Staten Island. The award recognizes young people who become an environmental force, individually or collectively, within their community. Each year, EPA selects ten winners from across the country, one from each EPA region. Three additional regional winners are selected from EPA Region 2, which includes New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Ms. Martini was a regional winner.

Ms. Martini helped the Salt Marsh Restoration Group assess salt marsh damage caused by an 1990 oil spill near Staten Island and planted spartina plants, an important part of the salt marsh ecosystem that was destroyed by the oil spill. Ms. Martini is also helping to educate others about the importance of salt marshes and the impact of the oil spill. She has displayed information at her school science fair and at many environmental fairs in Staten Island. Ms. Martini has continued her work for the environment by working closely with a Con Edison fish hatchery, feeding and tagging fish that are being re-introduced into the Hudson River.

"Children are the future stewards of our environment, so it is important that we recognize and encourage their efforts to make our world a cleaner and healthier place," said Jeanne M. Fox, EPA Region 2 Administrator. "If the youth of today show a fraction of the environmental initiative and ingenuity of these PEYA winners, then I know Mother Nature will be in good hands."

Students from Scotch Plains, New Jersey; East Meadow, New York; and Manati, Puerto Rico also won PEYA honors and were recognized for their outstanding efforts to protect the environment. Each organization received a plaque, and each student received a certificate signed by President Clinton at an EPA Region 2 environmental awards ceremony held today at the U.S. Court of International Trade in downtown Manhattan. The national award winner from the area, the Union Catholic Environmental Club of Scotch Plains, New Jersey, accepted its national award from EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner during a ceremony held March 26 in Washington, D.C.

For more information on the PEYA program, or to apply for a PEYA award in the future, please contact Cecilia Echols, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, at 212-637-3675.

For more information contact:
Mary Mears, Press Office
EPA Region 2
290 Broadway
NY, NY 10007-1866
Voice: 212-637-3669 FAX: 212-637-5046 E-Mail: [email protected]