CORNWALL – Members of National Garden Clubs, Inc. (NGC) recently honored the Housatonic Valley Association with the Award of Excellence, NGC’s highest honor given to a non-member.
The Achievement Award honors an individual, organization or institution that has made a significant contribution to advancing the objectives and purposes of National Garden Clubs, Inc, according to a statement.
The Housatonic Valley Association was founded in 1941 in Cornwall Bridge. Lynn Werner, Executive Director, leads this non-profit water, land and recreation conservation organization. Its mission is to protect the natural character, environmental health and economies of the Housatonic River Valley watershed for present and future generations, according to the release.
“The Housatonic River Valley offers world-class fishing, biking, hiking, boating, history and sightseeing,” the members said. “The source of the watershed begins in the Berkshire Mountains and stretches 149 miles through Connecticut, culminating in the tidal marshes of Long Island Sound. It includes mountain waterfalls, rolling hills, covered bridges, and a section of the Appalachian Trail. The HVA is one of the oldest watershed conservation organizations in the country.
Werner oversees the day-to-day management of the association, including working with individuals, groups, and agencies to maintain a healthy river system. HVA is recognized throughout the region as an effective, efficient and scientific organization.
The HVA restored the Furnace Brook Fishway in the City of Cornwall which allowed trout to swim upstream to spawn for the first time in 20 years; demanded that General Electric and the Environmental Protection Agency clean up PCBs in the watershed system; created the RiverSmart campaign to study the impact of polluted runoff and how to reduce it; successfully fought to divert a gas pipeline away from the watershed; and stopped a freeway route through the scenic ridgeline and saved 6,000 acres of river valley from developers, members said.
The HVA also launched “Follow the Forest” to highlight the need for a wildlife corridor; organizes educational programs for K-12 students on watershed biology, ecology and chemistry; offers free paddling workshops for families; and organizes hikes for naturalists, scientists and historians.
