Community leader, writer, educator, and outdoor enthusiast Lauren Stevens of Williamstown, Mass., has received the 2016 Alan Silverstein and Laura Dubester Award for Community Environmental Leadership from the Center for EcoTechnology.
Stevens, who has been working for more than three decades to protect and raise awareness about our local environment, received the award today, Wednesday, March 23, at a Berkshire Chamber of Commerce function at Crissey Farm in Great Barrington. Dubester and CET Associate Director Nancy Nylen were the presenters.
The award is named after Silverstein and Dubester, a couple who served as co-directors of CET for 22 years until they retired in 2010. Dubester joined CET in 1977 and Silverstein in 1978. They became co-directors of the organization in 1988. Silverstein passed away in 2014.
The award is given by CET to a local citizen who is working in his or her community to benefit the local environment with a focus on reducing the harmful impacts that humans can have on the environment, and the positive steps that people can take at home, work, and in their communities that help protect the environment, improve quality of life, and build community.
Stevens began his career as an educator, teaching English and Environmental Studies at Williams College. He founded the Hoosic River Watershed Association in 1986 and has served on its board of directors since its inception, as well as many of those years as president or executive director.
Championing protection and access to trails and rivers, Stevens has served on several boards of directors and advised organizations and initiatives, from the Ashuwillticook Bike Path and Mohican-Mohawk Trail initiative to the Mount Greylock State Reservation Advisory Council and Berkshire Renewable Energy Collaborative.
Stevens has also contributed significantly to raising awareness about the local environment as a writer and journalist. He is the author of several books and a regular columnist for the Berkshire Eagle, and in 1981 founded the Berkshire Advocate,. His Hikes and Walks in the Berkshire Hills and The Berkshire Book have been reprinted several times. He also co-authored Most Excellent Majesty: A History of Mount Greylock with Deborah Burns and Old Barns in the New World: Reconstructing History with Richard Babcock.
According to Nancy Nylen, CET’s associate director and long-time Williamstown resident, it is Lauren’s dedication to and gift for writing about the local environment that sets him apart from many environmental leaders.
“He has written continuously and passionately about places we love and things we can do in our personal and professional lives to protect those places,” Nylen said. “Lauren celebrates the history and beauty of the Berkshires and encourages us to get out and experience it – during all seasons of the year.”
According to John Majercak, CET’s president, “The award honors Dubester and Silverstein’s achievements and brings recognition to individuals who demonstrate community and environmental leadership through several means. We believe the best way to honor their work is to recognize similar work and commitment of other remarkable people, such as Lauren Stevens, in our communities.”
For 40 years, the Center for EcoTechnology has helped people and businesses save energy and reduce waste. For more information about how to Go Green, improve your comfort at home, and save money, visit www.cetonline.org.
