During an Earth Day ceremony in Boston, around 40 people and organizations – including four Rhode Islanders - from all across New England were honored with Environmental Merit Awards.

The awards, presented at the Earth Day ceremony hosted by US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Region One, were instituted in 1970; and are given to individuals and groups that make notable contributions to environmental awareness as well as problem-solving.

The ceremony this time round witnessed EPA’s Region One administrator Curt Spalding reiterating President Obama’s Earth Day challenge to the Americans – urging them participate in environment protection activities in their homes, communities, schools or businesses.

The four Rhode Islanders who were awarded at the ceremony included - Richard Grant, John Leo, Steven Stycos, and Karen Verrengia.

The president of the Narrow River Preservation Association, Richard Grant has been leading a program involving creation of detention ponds alongside the river, for providing natural settling and filtration of overflows from the road; while the state Department of Environmental Management veteran John Leo has spearheaded the creation of the department’s emergency-response services for incidents related to hazardous waste.

Meanwhile, Cranston’s Steven Stycos, president of the West Bay Land Trust, has contributed to the protection of the Pawtuxet River; and

Karen Verrengia, energy manager for Cranston public schools, has helped the schools slash energy costs by almost $2 million since 2006.