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Awards & Recognitions
Senior Citizen Service Award
The City of Encinitas Senior Citizen Commission, in partnership with the Encinitas Rotary Club, is pleased to announce that they will be honoring an Encinitas resident with the Senior Citizen Service Award.
The Senior Citizen Service Award recognizes a deserving senior citizen who demonstrates outstanding volunteerism, leadership, helping, teaching, mentoring, or advocating for others in the City of Encinitas. The award will be based on dedication, overarching commitment, and demonstrated impact of those served.
The Award recipient will be honored at a City Council meeting with a perpetual plaque housed at the Encinitas Senior Center. Additionally, they will be recognized as the guest of honor at an Encinitas Rotary Club meeting and invited to participate in the Encinitas Holiday Parade as a special guest of the Senior Citizen Commission.
Anyone may nominate a senior citizen by completing a nomination form and mailing it to the City of Encinitas, Senior Citizen of Year Award, Parks and Recreation Department, 505 South Vulcan Avenue, Encinitas, CA 92024, or by emailing it to prca@encinitasca.gov. Note: Nominations are being accepted starting January 8, 2026. Mailed nominations must be postmarked and emailed submissions must be received by 4pm on March 19, 2026. Senior Citizen Commissioners are not eligible to make a nomination.
Senior Citizen of the Year Nomination Form (pdf)
For more information regarding this award, please contact Troy Mickelson, City of Encinitas Interim Center Manager at (760) 943-2269 or tmickelson@encinitasca.gov.
Encinitas Environmental Award Program
The Environmental Commission recognizes deserving individuals, businesses, and non-profits for their commitment to environmental stewardship and outstanding environmental achievements in the City of Encinitas. Two Excellence in Environmental Stewardship awards have been historically granted to a for-profit business and a non-profit business each year since the program's founding in 2014 and inauguration in 2015 by Environmental Commissioners Jim Wang and Joy Lyndes. In 2019, under the leadership of Environmental Commissioners Inge Bisconer and Christian Adams, a new Environmental Hero category was added to recognize both an adult and a youth who are not necessarily affiliated with a business. Candidates are peer-nominated and must be Encinitas residents or located in Encinitas. Winners are selected by an independent jury of recognized environmental leaders. The Encinitas’ Environmental Award Program is the first award of its kind in San Diego County and is one of only a few in the United States.
2024 Environmental Award Winners
The City of Encinitas Environmental Commission is proud to announce winners of its prestigious Environmental Award Program (EAP), now in its tenth year. The EAP seeks to recognize deserving individuals, businesses, and non-profits for their commitment to environmental stewardship and outstanding environmental achievements. The City of Encinitas recognizes two Excellence in Environmental Stewardship awards that have been historically granted to a for-profit business and a non-profit organization each year, and an Environmental Hero to recognize an adult that is not necessarily affiliated with a business or non-profit organization.
Excellence in Environmental Stewardship - For-profit Business: Nectarine Grove.
Nectarine Grove not only serves really good food, but they are also a leader in proper organic waste disposal for customers. Food is served in primarily reusable service ware, which customers then bus themselves. They are one of the very few restaurants that offer proper organic waste disposal. Nectarine Grove is leading by example that organic waste is something that can and should be easily separated, showing that they care about the environment. Nectarine Grove’s mission works toward a making healthy community by serving food using all organic, local, and sustainable ingredients, and disposing the waste to lessen the methane produced in landfills. Nectarine Grove also gives back to the community in support of the CRC, Feeding San Diego, and food donations to Scripps Encinitas in addition to other charities. By caring about organic waste, Nectarine Grove inspires customers to do the same.
Excellence in Environmental Stewardship - Non-profit Organization: Plastic Beach. Plastic Beach, led by Matthew Clough, has a vision that includes creating a sustainable world with efficient plastic wrap recycling. By educating retailers, collaborating with recyclers, and finding like-minded partners, Plastic Beach has worked tirelessly to remove soft plastics from our waste stream. Soft plastic that wraps surfboards, retail parts, clothing, dry cleaning bags, grocery bags, bubble wrap, and more cannot be recycled in our EDCO facility, because it will clog their system. Plastic Beach, however, collects this material and ships it to businesses that recycles soft plastic to make products, saving nearly 100,000 pounds of the material since 2019 from being wasted. Plastic Beach is helping both individuals and businesses lessen their plastic footprint and is making a true difference in our environment.
Environmental Hero – Adult: Jim Brown.
Jim Brown is a 77-year Encinitas resident and has become a champion for cleaning our streets. Jim is a retired Marine and learned early the value of service. About 10 years ago, walking for exercise he finally got tired of stepping over the trash. He goes out for trash walks about 150 times a year, resulting in an estimated 1,000 walks to remove litter so far. Jim likes to stop and say Hi to like-minded people he sees picking up trash. Recently, Jim was the first person to join StreetStewards.com, a program where you adopt the area of your neighborhood and highlight your route on a map. As individuals or families highlight streets, the map turns those streets to green. Jim would like to see all of Encinitas go green. Jim is 80 years young, and environmental hero for cleaning our community.
Environmental Hero – Youth: Jay Burke.
Jay, a 17-year-old senior at San Dieguito Academy High School, is a committed environmentalist. He is a founding member of the NABA Butterfly NSD Coastal Count Circle, Jay contributes valuable data on butterfly populations, aiding conservation efforts. Jay promotes sustainability through native landscaping, habitat restoration, and volunteering at the San Elijo Lagoon and San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy ESP program. He is pursuing certification as a California Naturalist. Jay’s commitment to environmental education and stewardship makes him an outstanding young leader in local conservation and an environmental hero.
The awards were presented to recipients at the April 23, 2025 City Council meeting.
2025 Environmental Awards Program Nomination Form
Past Environmental Award Winners
Commission Information
Environmental Commission Work Plan FY 2022-2024 (pdf)
The Encinitas Environmental Commission has regularly scheduled meetings on the second (2nd) Thursday of the month at 5:30PM.
Please visit the City of Encinitas Agenda page for current meeting agendas or past meetings.
Environmental Commission Contact: Crystal Najera, (760) 943-2285 or climateaction@encinitasca.gov
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