Environment

San Diego River Park Foundation Heading To White House

By Ed Joyce / Reporter

Published July 15, 2011 at 10:59 AM PDT

This story was published more than 13 years ago.

Organization Gets National Award

Take Pride in America is a nationwide partnership program authorized by Congress to promote the appreciation and stewardship of our nation's public lands.

In a news release, the San Diego River Park Foundation said the award will be presented in a ceremony at the South Court of the White House Monday, July 18.

Rob Hutsel, the organization's executive director and one of its founders, will be in Washington, D.C. to receive the award.

Become a KPBS sponsor

"We are deeply moved by this national recognition of our San Diego-based organization," said Hutsel. "It is a testimony to the great efforts of thousands of volunteers to change the future of our historic San Diego River."

Just by coincidence, the award will be presented on the organization's 10th anniversary.

The award recognizes the volunteer programs of the San Diego River Park Foundation and its accomplishments.

One of the most significant is the foundation's initiative to clean-up the San Diego River which has resulted in more than 1.3 million pounds of trash and debris removed.

The River Park Foundation also organizes volunteers to care for San Diego area parks, open space preserves, disaster response and many projects to advance a 52-mile long park system along the River.

Tags

Environment Water

Ed Joyce

twitter

Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.

See stories by Ed Joyce