Community Engagement Award 2021 Call for Nominations Open

LEXINGTON, Ky. (February 23, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Center for Appalachian Research in Environmental Sciences (��ɫ��-CARES), in partnership with the Center of Excellence in Rural Health (CERH), recently announced their . Nominations are due Friday, March 19, 2021. Finalists will be notified by Thursday, April 8, and the winner will be announced on Earth Day, April 22, at the ��ɫ�� Virtual John P. Wyatt Symposium.

Craig Wilmhoff and biology students at Perry County Central High School . The decision was unanimous among the reviewers. Wilmhoff’s fellow 2020 nominees included Dylan Baker (Appalachian Regional Healthcare, Perry County), Madison Baker (Appal-TREE: Knott County Field Director), Brittany Combs (City of Jackson, Parks & Recreation), Nina McCoy (Martin County Concerned Citizens), Sherrie Stidham (Kentucky River District Health Department) and Carley Watts (InVision Hazard).

“The ��ɫ��-CARES/��ɫ��CERH Community Engagement Award means a great deal to me,” said Wilmhoff. “The students have done such an amazing job on projects in air quality and on in-home radon testing.”

The award recognizes individuals or community-academic teams who demonstrate effective research or project evaluation to improve environmental health in Appalachia. The nominees need to meet at least one of the following guidelines:

Community-engaged environmental health scientist
Community member engaged in issues to keep the air or water healthy
Involved in community-academic partnerships
Demonstrate outstanding community-engaged science.

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