Fulton County Presents Seven Environmental Honors
October 28, 2026
Fulton County honored seven organizations and individuals for their contributions to a better environment during the 2026 Fulton County Citizens Commission on the Environment (FCCCE) awards ceremony on October 21, 2026.
The Fulton County Board of Commissioners also presented the recipients with a proclamation during the regular commission meeting the same day.
The FCCCE is a citizen environmental advisory group appointed by the Board of Commissioners to investigate environmental concerns, recommend environmental policies, and increase public awareness and involvement in environmental issues. The annual awards recognize those who provide superlative environmental stewardship, assistance or education in Fulton County.
This year’s honorees:
• Chairman Robb Pitts selected the Atlanta Way 2.0 Green Gulch Initiative
Atlanta Way 2.0’s Green Gulch Initiative works to raise awareness about flooding, stormwater infrastructure and the critical role of greenways in creating a more resilient Atlanta. For three years it has sought to stop flooding in the Gulch by capturing 36 million gallons of floodwater, bringing diverse stakeholders together to address the complex issue and create a downtown that is more equitable, connected, resilient, and sustainable for all.
• District 1 Commissioner Bridget Thorne selected the Chattahoochee Nature Center Fulton County Junior District Attorney Program
The Fulton County Junior District Attorney Program partners with Chattahoochee Nature Center to ensure that young people have a chance to spend time in nature. Students who have been impacted by crime, violence, gang activity, or other adverse experiences can connect with nature in a safe, supportive environment while learning about the Chattahoochee River watershed and their role as environmental stewards. About 500 youth have had hands-on environmental experiences including mindfulness nature walks, canoeing, visiting the nature center’s Unity Garden, and more.
• District 2 Commissioner Bob Ellis selected the Springway Trail Morgan Falls Connector
The City of Sandy Springs’ Trail Master Plan envisions a 5.4-mile Springway Trail Network that connects with existing trails in neighboring communities. Its first segment, the Morgan Falls Connector, runs 1.88 miles to connect the Chattahoochee River at Morgan Falls Overlook Park to Roswell Road at Cimarron Parkway.
The project includes construction of an 8- to 12-foot-wide multi-use trail with pervious concrete surfaces, retaining walls, drainage structures, pedestrian bridges, a boardwalk, roadway realignments, landscaping, and trail signs.
The Springway Trail Network will help the City of Sandy Springs maintain its reputation as a great place to live, work, and play.
• District 3 Commissioner Dana Barrett selected the Environment Sandy Springs’ EcoSleuth Children’s Program
The EcoSleuth Children’s Program of Environment Sandy Springs is an interactive, kid-friendly program that brings soil, bugs, birds, and native plants to life through games, storytelling, and hands-on fun. Environment Sandy Springs has established community partnerships with nonprofits and the City of Sandy Springs to organize ecological restoration projects in four city parks and develop programs to educate and encourage single family homeowners to become Good Neighbors to Nature. The EcoSleuth Program focuses on underserved schools. Environment Sandy Springs volunteers guide children to uncover the hidden magic of ecosystems, how to turn lawns into living landscapes, and explore simple ways families can protect and restore nature, one yard at a time.
• District 4 (open) selected The Garden Queen and the West End Community Urban Garden
Ms. Haylene Green, “The Garden Queen,” has spent years transforming underused urban land into a thriving organic garden, teaching residents how to grow, prepare, and eat healthy food using sustainable, pesticide-free methods.
Through cooking classes, “eat & learn” events, and hands-on volunteer opportunities, the West End Community Urban Garden turns underutilized land into productive green space that benefits both the local ecosystem and the surrounding community. Programs like “Garden Therapy” pair youth and seniors in food equity, farm literacy, container gardening, and recycling education, building long-term environmental stewardship habits across generations.
Ms. Green has dedicated herself to addressing food insecurity and environmental disconnection in at-risk communities using her own five generations of farming heritage. Her work builds community resilience, improves public health outcomes, and models environmentally responsible land use in her community.
• District 5 Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. selected Serenbe
Serenbe is a 1,000-acre biophilic community in Chattahoochee Hills that has spent more than two decades proving that development and land conservation can strengthen one another, by creating compact, walkable villages surrounded by permanently preserved forests, meadows, and farmland.
Serenbe improves Fulton County's environment through permanent land preservation with more than 15 miles of public nature trails through forests, meadows, and stream corridors in the Chattahoochee River watershed. Wastewater from the entire community is treated naturally in constructed wetlands and reused for irrigation rather than discharged, and stormwater is managed through natural drainage rather than curb-and-gutter pipes. All homes are built to EarthCraft green-building standards, and homes in the Mado neighborhood use geothermal energy. Serenbe Farms, a 25-acre organic farm, supplies residents, restaurants, and farmers markets while keeping working agriculture alive in the county.
Serenbe’s combination of on-the-ground environmental performance and lasting policy impact have been studied and honored nationally, including recognition from the Urban Land Institute and the Atlanta Regional Commission.
• District 6 Commissioner Khadijah Abdur-Rahman selected Mr. Alfred Tucker and the Stop Flooding Us Coalition
Mr. Alfred Tucker is a longtime Atlanta resident and organizer of the Stop Flooding Us Coalition, a group of residents advocating for Atlanta and the state of Georgia to address flooding in northwest Atlanta neighborhoods.
The combined stormwater and sanitary sewage system in northwest Atlanta is overwhelmed from runoff during heavy rain in the 267-acre area known as the Gulch. Repeated flooding has devastated these neighborhoods, predominantly impacting lower-income families whose houses are left unsafe.
The Coalition has been working to obtain signatures to a petition that asks the Mayor and City Council of Atlanta to act now to protect these areas from sewage contaminated flooding.
The Fulton County Board of Commissioners also presented the recipients with a proclamation during the regular commission meeting the same day.
The FCCCE is a citizen environmental advisory group appointed by the Board of Commissioners to investigate environmental concerns, recommend environmental policies, and increase public awareness and involvement in environmental issues. The annual awards recognize those who provide superlative environmental stewardship, assistance or education in Fulton County.
This year’s honorees:
• Chairman Robb Pitts selected the Atlanta Way 2.0 Green Gulch Initiative
Atlanta Way 2.0’s Green Gulch Initiative works to raise awareness about flooding, stormwater infrastructure and the critical role of greenways in creating a more resilient Atlanta. For three years it has sought to stop flooding in the Gulch by capturing 36 million gallons of floodwater, bringing diverse stakeholders together to address the complex issue and create a downtown that is more equitable, connected, resilient, and sustainable for all.
• District 1 Commissioner Bridget Thorne selected the Chattahoochee Nature Center Fulton County Junior District Attorney Program
The Fulton County Junior District Attorney Program partners with Chattahoochee Nature Center to ensure that young people have a chance to spend time in nature. Students who have been impacted by crime, violence, gang activity, or other adverse experiences can connect with nature in a safe, supportive environment while learning about the Chattahoochee River watershed and their role as environmental stewards. About 500 youth have had hands-on environmental experiences including mindfulness nature walks, canoeing, visiting the nature center’s Unity Garden, and more.
• District 2 Commissioner Bob Ellis selected the Springway Trail Morgan Falls Connector
The City of Sandy Springs’ Trail Master Plan envisions a 5.4-mile Springway Trail Network that connects with existing trails in neighboring communities. Its first segment, the Morgan Falls Connector, runs 1.88 miles to connect the Chattahoochee River at Morgan Falls Overlook Park to Roswell Road at Cimarron Parkway.
The project includes construction of an 8- to 12-foot-wide multi-use trail with pervious concrete surfaces, retaining walls, drainage structures, pedestrian bridges, a boardwalk, roadway realignments, landscaping, and trail signs.
The Springway Trail Network will help the City of Sandy Springs maintain its reputation as a great place to live, work, and play.
• District 3 Commissioner Dana Barrett selected the Environment Sandy Springs’ EcoSleuth Children’s Program
The EcoSleuth Children’s Program of Environment Sandy Springs is an interactive, kid-friendly program that brings soil, bugs, birds, and native plants to life through games, storytelling, and hands-on fun. Environment Sandy Springs has established community partnerships with nonprofits and the City of Sandy Springs to organize ecological restoration projects in four city parks and develop programs to educate and encourage single family homeowners to become Good Neighbors to Nature. The EcoSleuth Program focuses on underserved schools. Environment Sandy Springs volunteers guide children to uncover the hidden magic of ecosystems, how to turn lawns into living landscapes, and explore simple ways families can protect and restore nature, one yard at a time.
• District 4 (open) selected The Garden Queen and the West End Community Urban Garden
Ms. Haylene Green, “The Garden Queen,” has spent years transforming underused urban land into a thriving organic garden, teaching residents how to grow, prepare, and eat healthy food using sustainable, pesticide-free methods.
Through cooking classes, “eat & learn” events, and hands-on volunteer opportunities, the West End Community Urban Garden turns underutilized land into productive green space that benefits both the local ecosystem and the surrounding community. Programs like “Garden Therapy” pair youth and seniors in food equity, farm literacy, container gardening, and recycling education, building long-term environmental stewardship habits across generations.
Ms. Green has dedicated herself to addressing food insecurity and environmental disconnection in at-risk communities using her own five generations of farming heritage. Her work builds community resilience, improves public health outcomes, and models environmentally responsible land use in her community.
• District 5 Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. selected Serenbe
Serenbe is a 1,000-acre biophilic community in Chattahoochee Hills that has spent more than two decades proving that development and land conservation can strengthen one another, by creating compact, walkable villages surrounded by permanently preserved forests, meadows, and farmland.
Serenbe improves Fulton County's environment through permanent land preservation with more than 15 miles of public nature trails through forests, meadows, and stream corridors in the Chattahoochee River watershed. Wastewater from the entire community is treated naturally in constructed wetlands and reused for irrigation rather than discharged, and stormwater is managed through natural drainage rather than curb-and-gutter pipes. All homes are built to EarthCraft green-building standards, and homes in the Mado neighborhood use geothermal energy. Serenbe Farms, a 25-acre organic farm, supplies residents, restaurants, and farmers markets while keeping working agriculture alive in the county.
Serenbe’s combination of on-the-ground environmental performance and lasting policy impact have been studied and honored nationally, including recognition from the Urban Land Institute and the Atlanta Regional Commission.
• District 6 Commissioner Khadijah Abdur-Rahman selected Mr. Alfred Tucker and the Stop Flooding Us Coalition
Mr. Alfred Tucker is a longtime Atlanta resident and organizer of the Stop Flooding Us Coalition, a group of residents advocating for Atlanta and the state of Georgia to address flooding in northwest Atlanta neighborhoods.
The combined stormwater and sanitary sewage system in northwest Atlanta is overwhelmed from runoff during heavy rain in the 267-acre area known as the Gulch. Repeated flooding has devastated these neighborhoods, predominantly impacting lower-income families whose houses are left unsafe.
The Coalition has been working to obtain signatures to a petition that asks the Mayor and City Council of Atlanta to act now to protect these areas from sewage contaminated flooding.