2026 marks the 17th year for the Inspiring Sustainability Awards.

That means 17 years of recognizing and celebrating organizations and individuals who have inspired sustainable action within our community and beyond. How amazing is that?

Celebrating Local Sustainability

Inspiring Sustainability Awards: Programs

recognizing & celebrating local Sustainability efforts

The Inspiring Sustainability Awards are meant to recognize individuals and organizations within the Driftless Area who are committed to sustainability and helping this community thrive.

The Sustainability Institute's board votes for one individual and one organization from a pool of nominees.

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All too often, sustainability work and climate change work is seen as doom and gloom. At the Sustainability Institute we want to turn that around and make it something worth celebrating, and envision what a thriving future could be.

Casey Meehan
Sustainability Institute Director of Programming

Previous Winners

PREVIOUS AWARD WINNERS

2025 Winners

Kaarina Dunn for her exceptional youth-led climate leadership through innovative local projects. Her courage and commitment to youth empowerment exemplify the next generation of climate leaders.

The Nature Place for being a vibrant hub of nature education and community connection, inspiring people of all ages to care for the natural world through youth engagement, environmental education, and collaborative programming. Their dedicated team and strong partnerships have created a welcoming space that strengthens the region’s environmental network and fosters lasting connections to our local ecosystem.

Read about the 2025 Winners

2024 Winners

Andrew Ericson - For his enthusiastic work as the Sustainability Coordinator for UWL and his leadership in community climate action.
Habitat for Humanity of the Greater La Crosse Area - For their longstanding commitment of addressing housing needs and repurposing reusable building components. As well as recent program expansions like ReNew the Block and Campus wide Dumpster Diversion.

Read about the 2024 Winners

2023 Winners

Jessica Schoonover - For her implementation of sustainability initiatives throughout the Shirley M Wright Memorial Library in Trempealeau, Wisconsin. Jessica is also leading the library through the Sustainable Libraries Initiative Certification program - a 2-year program for sustainability in public libraries.
City of La Crosse's Climate Action Plan - For the work and adoption of a Climate Action Plan for the community in January 2023. In alignment with recommendations from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, La Crosse’s Climate Action Plan establishes greenhouse gas emission reduction targets of 50% below 2019 levels by 2030 with a goal of being carbon neutral by 2050. The plan puts forth 41 strategies across 9 sectors, from transportation to housing, from health and safety to waste management, that will help us mitigate our emissions while also build our resilience to the impacts of climate change.

Read about the 2023 Winners

2022 Winners

Cathy Van Maren - for her years of tireless work across many community organizations such as: Coulee Region Sierra Club, Coulee Progressives, La Crosse Area Transit Advocates, Solar on La Crosse Schools, La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility Board, La Crosse Climate Action Plan Steering Committee and Sustainable La Crosse Commission … (just to name a few).
La Crosse Public Library - For their ingenuity, persistence and implementation around a wide-range of sustainability programming and services bolster’s our community’s resilience and ability to thrive. Importantly, the Library’s commitment to sustainability extends beyond the environmental realm. Their commitment to serving the needs of all people through their creative programming, their provisioning of resources for those in need, and their unflinching work in helping our community explore issues of diversity and inclusion.

Read about the 2022 Winners

2021 Winners

Mike Freybler - For his instrumental work in energy savings dollars and renewable energy efforts for the School District of La Crosse
SOLS: Solar on La Crosse Schools - For their community work in raising funds and awareness around solar energy installation on local schools. SOLS has installed a solar array on Hamilton SOTA Elementary school and works to integrate STEM learning around this renewable energy source.

Read about the 2021 Winners

2020 Winners

La Crosse Distilling Co. - For a significant investment in downtown La Crosse and commitment to locally sourced food for their restaurant and locally sourced supplies for the distillery operation. Not only is their farmer forward approach commendable but they also utilize geothermal energy to produce their “field to glass” spirits. The La Crosse Distilling Company was one of the first to find a way to pivot and step up during the early parts of the Covid-19 pandemic when they refocused production to provide hand sanitizer...an item in short supply at the time and donated their product to citizens and over 140 organizations of the La Crosse region.
Jason Gilman - For thinking beyond the present in hopes of creating a better tomorrow for all. Jason worked from paper to inception by planning roads, buildings, neighborhoods and communities all through a lens of sustainability. He guided citizen-led plans for major transportation corridors, increased the amount and quality of affordable housing, improved the city’s floodplain program, championed La Crosse’s neighborhoods and helped to revitalize downtown La Crosse.

Read about the 2020 Winners

2019 Winners

Superior Fresh - For an industry leading aquaponics facility that uses state of the art technology and ecologically sound water conservation practices to provide the freshest and most healthy leafy greens and fish year-round.
Kahya Fox - For her strong involvement in the Renew program, leading the Neighbor’s day event, and this year partnered with the Marsh clean up to expand outreach to volunteers in cleaning up our community. Kahya is a driving force of volunteerism in the La Crosse area.

2017 Winners

Alan Stankevitz - Daycreek.com - Cordwood building & living a more self-sufficient lifestyle / iwishicouldfly.com web site devoted to bird photography and cinematography
CARS – Citizens Acting for Rail Safety - Grassroots organization that works with citizens and public officials to achieve a rail transportation that respects health, safety, and quality-of-life.
Grow La Crosse - For school gardens & summer classes programming development

Celebrating Local Sustainability

recognizing & celebrating local Sustainability efforts

Casey Meehan Sustainability Institute Director of Programming

PREVIOUS AWARD WINNERS

Casey Meehan
Sustainability Institute Director of Programming