Elgin honors Friends of the Fox River

The nonprofit organization Friends of the Fox River got the biannual sustainability honor roll award from the city of Elgin.

"Friends of the Fox deserves every bit of our simple recognition and so much more," Laura Knoerr, chairwoman for the city's sustainability commission, stated in a news release. "This organization has taken dynamic responsibility for the Fox River watershed - from practical measures such as physically cleaning up the river and testing water quality to the long range investment of teaching people, especially children, how to care for and improve our great water resource. Most of all, its members inspire us to hope for a good and sustainable future."

Mayor David Kaptain presented the award to Gary Swick, president of the organization, at the city's sustainability commission meeting Oct. 11. The award is given out biannually, typically in April and October.

Friends of the Fox River comprises residents and organizations interested in protecting and maintaining the quality of the Fox River and its tributaries through education, research, restoration and advocacy.

Over 4,500 people participate each year in the organization's programs, including water quality monitoring, and river and stream cleanups.

"One of the neatest things the organization has done is activating its watershed watchdog program. It's putting students into the streams, to understand it and protect it. They go home and it translates into their families being more committed. Also, they are personally more committed to protecting these resources when they grow up," said Elgin Water Director Kyla Jacobsen, a longtime member of the Friends of the Fox River.

This is the fourth sustainability honor roll award since the program's inception in 2015. Other recipients were Elgin High School teacher Deb Perryman, resident Carl Missele and the business Multifilm Packaging.

Nominations are welcomed by the public and may be submitted at any time of year at cityofelgin.org/greenaward.