Commission Member Wins Environmental Award

Danielle Fidler has been awarded the city’s 2013 Ellen Pickering Environmental Excellence Award.

The award is granted by the City of Alexandria, Alexandria Renew Enterprises (formerly the Alexandria Sanitation Authority) and the Alexandria Environmental Policy Commission. As part of the city’s Eco-City Alexandria Initiative, the award will be presented at Alexandria’s Earth Day 2013 celebration on Saturday at Ben Brenman Park.

The city will also plant a tree in Fidler’s honor.

Fidler served on the Alexandria Enviornmental Policy Commission for 10 years as member, vice chairwoman and chairwoman. Despite being a busy environmental attorney, she found the time to develop and drive to completion the Eco-City Alexandria Charter and Environmental Action Plan.

The award is named in honor of the late Ellen Pickering and her lifelong dedication to preservation and conservation in the city. Pickering helped create the Mount Vernon Trail between Alexandria and Washington and urged the adoption of the city’s Open Space Plan.

Pickering also implemented the planting of 1,000 resident-donated cherry trees during her tenure as chairwoman of the Alexandria Beautification Commission. She was a member of the Alexandria Sanitation Authority’s board of directors and also served on the City Council and numerous boards and commissions.