On Monday August 7, 2006, at its 91st Annual Meeting in Memphis, Tennessee, the Ecological Society of America (ESA) will present its Corporate Award to the Straus Family Creamery of California. The ESA Corporate Award honors a company or individual that incorporates sound ecological concepts and practices into business and operating processes. The Creamery was nominated for its commitment to sound agricultural practice, technological innovation in reducing environmental impact, and contributions to regional-scale conservation of working landscapes.
"This long-standing family farm has sustained a commitment to both local and landscape-scale stewardship of resources within a region of rapid change and enormous social pressures," says Laura Huenneke, Chair of the Corporate Award Committee.
Bill Straus, who founded the dairy in 1941, 60 miles north of San Francisco, actively participated in conservation efforts. His wife, Ellen Straus was a founding member of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT), the first agricultural land trust in the nation. MALT has enabled the preservation of working agricultural landscapes by acquiring development easements in a county faced with rapid growth and development.
Following in his father's footsteps, Albert Straus converted the farm to an organic operation. In addition, the Straus Family Creamery applies innovative technology with every aspect of the farm and diary operations. The creamery now creates electricity from methane gas. The process saves energy resources, as well as reduces the amount of greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the amount of methane released into the air. The farm is also in the process of converting diesel engines and farm equipment to run on vegetable oil.
"This excellent operation exemplifies all of the characteristics of wise stewardship, community leadership, and a commitment to sustainability," says Carol Brewer, a member of ESA's Governing Board
Albert Strauss will be at the Scientific Plenary and Awards Ceremony to receive the award. For more information about this session and other ESA Meeting activities, visit: www.esa.org/memphis/. The theme of the meeting is "Icons and Upstarts in Ecology" and some 3,000 scientists are expected to attend.
Scientific Plenary and Awards Ceremony
Monday, August 7, 2:40-5 pm, Ballroom A, Cook Convention Center
The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is a scientific, non-profit, 9500-member organization founded in 1915. Through ESA reports, journals, membership research, and expert testimony to Congress, ESA seeks to promote the responsible application of ecological data and principles to the solution of environmental problems. ESA publishes four scientific, peer-reviewed journals: Ecology, Ecological Applications, Ecological Monographs, and Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. For more information about the Society visit www.esa.org.