By SOPHIE GORMAN ORIANI — On Oct. 15, the City of Hyattsville became Sustainable Maryland-certified and was named the Sustainable Maryland Sustainability Champion at the Maryland Municipal League Fall Conference, held in Cambridge.
To become certified by Sustainable Maryland, a municipality must create a Green Team and complete a Green Team Action Plan. They must also complete a variety of sustainable actions, including two priority actions. Each action has a certain point value, and a municipality must complete 150 points’ worth of actions to receive the Sustainable Maryland award.
The City of Hyattsville’s Sustainable Maryland application boasted 535 points’ worth of completed actions, more than any other community in 2019. This earned them the Sustainability Champion award.
“Hyattsville is thrilled to receive the 2019 Sustainable Maryland Champion Award. I’m very proud of the efforts of our City staff, and the Hyattsville Environment Committee for leading this initiative,” said Mayor Candace Hollingsworth.
One action the City of Hyattsville undertook to become Sustainable Maryland-certified was buying an all-electric Chevrolet Bolt and converting it into a police patrol vehicle, the first of its kind in the United States. Hyattsville also acquired an all-electric police motorcycle. Other actions included the opening of the McClanahan Food Forest and the Emerson Street Food Forest.
A certification award from Sustainable Maryland is valid until Dec. 31 of the third year following certification. Hyattsville has been Sustainable Maryland-certified since 2013, with recertifications in 2016 and 2019. This is the first time Hyattsville has won the “Sustainability Champion” award.
Hollingsworth said, “As a community we remain committed to sustainability and making Hyattsville a great place to live now, and for future generations.”
