EQC's 2006 Earth Day award ceremony was held on April 21, 2006, at McConnell Springs in Lexington.  The Environmental Quality Commission honored 10 individuals/organizations for outstanding efforts to enhance and protect our environment.

Glenn O. Swing Elementary School Energy Savers Team - The Glenn O. Swing Energy Savers Team, a group of fourth- and fifth-grade students, planned and implemented an energy awareness and conservation program.  This group helped improve the environment and realize change in the lives of the 400 students at their school and their families.

Mammoth Cave Restoration Field Camp - The Mammoth Cave Restoration Field Camp, a volunteer organization founded by concerned cavers in conjunction with the National Speleological Society, meets four times a year to make a difference by restoring and protecting the caves that they enjoy and revere. 

Bacon Creek Watershed Council - The Bacon Creek Watershed Council was organized to educate the local community about the benefits of restoration and protection of historic Bacon Creek in Hart County.  The council has sponsored stream and community cleanups, educational programs and heritage events that focus on improvements to the local watershed.

Caryn Walker and the Brown School 12 - Caryn Walker and 12 of her third- and fourth-grade students created a student version of the environmental principles set forth by the Partnership for a Green City in Jefferson County.  Working in small groups the students deconstructed the meaning of the principles, which contained technical vocabulary, and rewrote them so that the average fourth-grader could understand them.
 
Sister Rose Marie Cummins - As the director of the Dominican Earth Center in Springfield, Sister Rose Marie Cummins has encouraged a philosophy and lifestyle of sustainable living that benefits our environment and those who inhabit it.  Thanks to the hard work and dedication of Sister Rose Marie and her associates, the Dominican Earth Center is a model ecological learning center, committed to literacy, spiritual growth and sustainable living that focuses on the Earth.

Logan County Conservation District - The Logan County Conservation District sponsored construction of the 66-acre Baker Natural Area, which is a combination of native prairie, woodland and exposed rock outcrops.  The Baker Natural Area is located close to Russellville and provides local students opportunity for outdoor studies in natural resources via field days, camps and other school events.

Friends of Wolf Run, Inc. - The Friends of Wolf Run, Inc. was organized in spring 2005 to improve the quality and function of Wolf Run.  Initiatives of the Wolf Run include, but are not limited to, hosting forums and stream walks, forming an pollutant tracking team, conducting water quality sampling and educating the public on lawn chemical application.

Clark's Run Environmental and Educational Corporation - The Clark's Run Environmental and Educational Corporation (CREEC) was formed in 2005 by a group of dedicated individuals from Boyle County with the goals of improving water quality within the impaired Clark's Run stream basin, providing water quality enhancement education to local residents and students and extending an existing creek side recreational trail.  CREEC has proved to be an invaluable resource for the protection and enhancement of Clark's Run.

Scott R. Smith (Public Service Award) - Scott Smith served as chief of staff and executive director of regulator affairs for the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet.  During this time, he finalized the promulgation of anti-degradation regulations that relate to the waters of the commonwealth, worked on the development of a neighborhood health-based screening program in Jefferson County, served as co-chair of Kentucky's Air Toxics Task Force and served as the senior administration negotiator on Kentucky's mine safety legislation in the 2006 legislative session.

Herman D. Regan Jr. (Lifetime Achievement Award) - Herman D. Regan Jr. spent more than 40 years building a successful career in civil and environmental engineering.  During the 1970s he acted as the director of the Division of Water and was the first commissioner of Kentucky's Bureau of Environmental Quality.  He has been involved in projects that focus on municipal and industrial wastewater treatment, water quality, air quality, solid waste, hazardous waste, regional planning and other related environmental areas.  Mr. Regan's career is a stellar example of dedication to cleaner air and water quality for future Kentuckians.