The Nansemond River Preservation Alliance recently received the 2019 Garden Club of Virginia Elizabeth Dugdale Cabell Award for Meritorious Achievement in Conservation.

NRPA President and Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Taraski accepted the award on behalf of the NRPA board members and volunteers on Sept. 25 in an outdoor ceremony at Natural Bridge, according to a press release from the organization.

The Elizabeth Cabell Award was established in 1974, with previous recipients including Lynnhaven River Now, the Piedmont Environmental Council and Thomas J. Lipton Inc. NRPA was nominated by the Nansemond River Garden Club, which regularly provides a forum that allows the NRPA to inform citizens on the status of Suffolk’s waterways.

The two organizations developed the Water Wise Program, a comprehensive outreach program that informs citizens about best practices they can do to protect waterways. The garden club also provided NRPA with funding through a grant to purchase scientific instruments for NRPA’s kindergarten-through-12th grade Nansemond Watershed Initiative: Connecting the Classroom with the Environment Program.

“Volunteers and collaborations with partnering organizations have been the backbone of NRPA’s success over the last nine years,” Taraski said in her remarks at the award presentation. “One of our most cherished and enduring relationships has been with the Nansemond River Garden Club. On behalf of the NRPA Board of Directors, I would like to express our deep appreciation for the support the Nansemond River Garden Club has provided.”