Recognize the extraordinary work of your colleagues by nominating them for a prestigious Western Chapter ISA Award. There are categories to fit a variety of accolades from service to education – from project to program. Take a moment to reflect on past recipients and complete the simple nomination form so that their accomplishments don’t go unrecognized!

The Awards committee seeks nominations of the Active Membership for the annual Awards described herein (exclusive of President’s Award and Special Awards) by December 31st of each year, through published requests, mailings and/or any other means which may be directed by the Board.

Final determination of award recipients shall be determined by a Vote of the Board. Any nominated Board member(s) shall abstain from voting on their award category.

All awards are bestowed on an annual basis. All awards shall be announced and presented before the Membership at the Annual Meeting and Conference.

Click here to complete our online Awards Nomination Form. Direct your questions to Awards Chair Carl Mellinger at moc.loanull@enoogknig or contact the WCISA office at 559/784-8733.

All valid nominations shall be reviewed by the Award Committee and a recommended award slate submitted to the WCISA board.

The American Architectural Foundation (AAF) announces the call for applications for its 2012 Sustainable Cities Design Academy (SCDA).

AAF encourages public-private partnership project teams to apply. Successful applicants will join AAF for one of two design workshops:

• April 11-13, 2012, San Francisco

• July 18-20, 2012, Baltimore

SCDA connects project teams and multi-disciplinary sustainable design experts through highly interactive design workshops that help project teams advance their green infrastructure and community development goals. To support a diverse portfolio of SCDA projects, United Technologies Corporation (UTC) generously underwrites participants’ attendance costs.

Applications are due Friday, December 30, 2011. Application materials and instructions are available here. If you have any questions regarding SCDA or this application process, contact:

Elizabeth Blazevich

Program Director, Sustainable Cities Design Academy

202.639.7615 | gro.noitadnuofhcranull@hcivezalbe

Past SCDA project team participants include:

• Philadelphia Navy Yard

• Shreveport-Caddo Master Plan

• Northwest One, Washington, DC

• Uptown Triangle, Seattle

• New Orleans Mission

• Fairhaven Mills, New Bedford, MA

• Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse, Atlanta

• Brattleboro, VT, Waterfront Master Plan

To learn more about these and other SCDA project teams, visit AAF’s website at www.archfoundation.org.

The Sustainable Cities Design Academy, organized by the American Architectural Foundation in partnership with United Technologies Corporation (UTC), provides leadership development and technical assistance to local leaders engaged in planning a sustainable building project in their communities.

Established in 1943 and headquartered in Washington, DC, the American Architectural Foundation (AAF) is a national nonprofit organization that educates the public about the power of architecture and design to improve lives and transform communities. Through national design leadership programs including the Sustainable Cities Design Academy, Great Schools by Design, and the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, AAF inspires local leaders to use design as a catalyst for creating better cities. AAF’s diverse portfolio of outreach programs, grants, scholarships, and educational resources helps people understand the essential role that design plays in all our lives and empowers them to use design to strengthen their communities.

The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), with generous support from Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc., is seeking to strengthen specific volunteer organizations and unleash their potential to serve their public lands by awarding 50 Every Day Grants over the next several months for organizational capacity building.

Often referred to or even titled “Friends of…” organizations, these nonprofit group’s missions are focused on serving public land sites in the nation and the improvement and responsible use of those sites. NEEF’s Every Day Grants will strengthen the stewardship of public lands by strengthening these “Friends.”

There will be two rounds of Every Day grants in 2012, with each round awarding 25 grants of up to $5,000 each. All applications are due January 13, 2012.

Visit http://www.neefusa.org/grants/every_day_grants.htm for more details.

The Alliance for Community Trees and Siemens Sustainable Community Awards provide tree donations worth up to $20,000 to cities which demonstrate that their community has forged relationships with residents and the local private sector to set and achieve complementary economic, environmental and social goals. Does your non-profit partner with a local government that meets this standard of excellence? If so, nominate them for this program and help bring more trees to your city.

The Siemens Sustainable Community Awards are presented in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC). Nominations for the 2012 awards will be accepted in three categories: small communities (less than 50,000 residents), midsize cities (50,000-500,000 residents) and large communities (more than 500,000 residents).

All nominations are due January 13, 2012. Each winning city will be announced during an awards reception in April 2012.

Visit http://sustainablecommunity.uschamber.com/prize-information/ for more details.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that the Agency is seeking applicants for $1 million in environmental justice small grants expected to be awarded in 2012. EPA’s environmental justice efforts aim to ensure equal environmental and health protections for all Americans, regardless of race or socioeconomic status through grants for conducting research, providing education, and developing solutions to local health and environmental issues in communities overburdened by harmful pollution.

Applicants must be incorporated non-profits or tribal organizations working to educate, empower and enable their communities to understand and address local environmental and public health issues. Grants are awarded up to $25,000 each and require no match.

All grant solicitations are due by February 29, 2012.

Visit http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/grants/ej-smgrants.html for more details.