The Garden Club of Virginia presented the Dugdale Award for Conservation to two individuals: Stanley G. Breakell of Roanoke and Robert G. Burnley of Richmond. The award was made during The Garden Club of Virginia’s 50th Annual Conservation Forum at the Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville, Virginia. The prestigious GCV Award for Meritorious Achievement in Conservation was first made in 1974, and in 1989 was named for Mrs. Arthur A. Dugdale of the Ashland Garden Club, an outstanding member of GCV who originated the Conservation Forum. It is presented to an organization, industry or an individual who is not a GCV member for outstanding work in conservation.
Stanley G. Breakell, president of Breakell Inc., recognizes the impact of construction upon the environment (buildings generate 30 percent of all greenhouse gasses; construction and demolition generate 136 million tons of landfill waste per year), and has devoted his career to finding solutions that foster environmental stewardship through sustainable business and building practices. Breakell’s firm renovated the first LEED-certified building in Roanoke and the second historic renovation project in the state to be LEED-certified. Breakell’s environmental commitment extends to Roanoke’s business community, where he helped establish the Roanoke Business Environmental Leadership Coalition. Coalition members, CEOs of the top ten employers in the city, agreed to make sustainability a priority by: monitoring their carbon footprint, examining their energy consumption, and altering their transportation and office practices. Breakell is a builder and community leader whose actions show an entire industry how to be part of Virginia’s environmental solution.
Robert G. Burnley’s lifelong work has been to conserve and improve Virginia’s natural resources. His service as Director of the Department of Environmental Quality during Governor Warner’s administration saw him fully enforce environmental protection and initiate citizen involvement to shape environmental programs. He has received the Dugdale Award because of his efforts to protect the important permitting function of Virginia’s citizen environmental boards (state boards that issue water and air quality permits). During the 2008 General Assembly, legislation originally written to eviscerate Virginia’s citizen boards was so substantially improved that it became an environmental success when it was finally passed into law. The new law bears Burnley’s hallmark: a clearer regulatory process and increased citizen participation.
