Sustainable Eden Prairie Award winners were recognized at the Nov. 14 City Council meeting.

The Sustainable Eden Prairie Award recognizes significant and innovative investments that contribute to the overall vitality and sustainability of the community.

Student Sustainability Commission members Alyssa Ehler, Rylee Brazil, Sophie Cain, Lucy Dowdal-Osborn, Lalitha Gunturi, Roshan Gurumurthy, Pranav Narayanan, Kate Ropchak, Lilli Timpe and Keerti Tumu presented the awards.

Mayor Ron Case, student commission members Pranav Narayanan and Roshan Gurumurthy, and SunOpta representatives Claudine Galloway and Stacy Seidel

Energy

SunOpta is a plant-based food and drink provider with a focus on sustainability that recently installed a significant rooftop solar project at its headquarters. The 742-panel project produces an estimated 447,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year.

The company has also made other sustainable upgrades to its building, including renewable bamboo flooring, LED lighting, indoor trees and plantings, organic gardening space for employees and four EV charging stations.

Mayor Ron Case, student commission members Alyssa Ehler and Sophie Cain, and Rustic Hills Garden representative Melissa Wilsford

Landscape

Rustic Hills Garden Co. provides planning and design services for landscaping and edible gardens with a focus on native flowers, grasses, shrubs and trees for pollinators and other wildlife.

The company also provides workshops and coaching to help customers maintain and care for their edible landscapes, and their designs help keep stormwater onsite to use for irrigation.

Dick Rawlings

Waste

Dick Rawlings has been patrolling the roads around Flagstone Senior Community every day for the last five years, pushing his walker and picking up trash. He occasionally stretches the boundaries of how far away he’s supposed to go, but he enjoys his time outside and is proud of how clean the area is now.

Dick is an inspiration for everyone in Eden Prairie on how they can do their part.

Mayor Ron Case, student commission members Lilli Timpe and Lucy Dowdal-Osborn, and Lori Tritz

Water

Lori Tritz has a yard that epitomizes sustainability. The permaculture landscape includes fruit trees and shrubs, vegetables and herbs. To support the plantings, she has rain barrels that collect rainwater for irrigation. She also has a rain garden with native plants to clean her rooftop water before it is infiltrated.

Tritz is a Master Naturalist and Water Steward, and serves on the board of the Prairie Edge chapter of Wild Ones. She also has her own YouTube channel where she shares information about her backyard.

This award program aligns with the City's Sustainable Eden Prairie initiative, an ongoing effort focusing on education and implementation of sustainable practices to protect the environment and natural resources our community enjoys. The four nomination categories reflect the initiative's focus areas — energy, landscape, waste and water.

Learn more at edenprairie.org/SustainableAward.