PORT HADLOCK — Naval Magazine Indian Island has been named the winner of a 2012 Navy Community Service Environmental Stewardship Flagship Award.
These awards recognize Navy commands that engage in exemplary voluntary community service activities that promote good stewardship of environmental resources.
Indian Island won in the category of a small shore command, which has fewer than 200 personnel.
“Preserving the environment and being energy-efficient are priorities for us, so I am thrilled that we were recognized for our team’s efforts,” said Cmdr. Gary Martin, commanding officer.
“This award certainly energizes us to continue engaging with the community to promote environmental stewardship.”
More than 25 activities
From July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012, Indian Island personnel hosted or participated in more than 25 environmental-related community activities, including community group tours of the base, emergency-response exercises with the county, tribal shellfish seeding and traditional plant gathering, Earth Day beach cleanup and tree-planting with Boy Scout troops and research and restoration projects with federal and state agencies, Native American tribes and environmental nonprofit organizations.
Indian Island personnel logged about 742 volunteer hours over the course of the year while engaging in these activities, through which they were able to reach more than 800 people of all ages, Martin said.
“With eight active bald eagle nests, seven tribal shellfish beaches, more than 300 blacktail deer, 11 Native American archaeological sites and 2,100 acres of coniferous forest, Indian Island hardly seems like a Navy base,” said Martin.
“So it’s no surprise that every employee strongly believes in the command’s objectives to be a good neighbor and a good steward of the environment.”
The Environmental Stewardship Flagship, which is sponsored by N4, is one of five flagships in the Navy Community Service program.
The other four flagships include Personal Excellence Partnership, Project Good Neighbor, Campaign Drug Free and Health, Safety and Fitness.
