AZUSA, CA (March 8, 2012) – With more than 350,000 votes already cast for the projects entered in Rain Bird’s Intelligent Use of Water Awards program since November 2011, the projects are now in the final week of public voting before the awards program officially closes at 11:59 pm PT on March 15, 2012.
Rain Bird’s Intelligent Use of Water Awards social media driven grant program, now in its fourth year, will award more than $50,000 to water conservation and environmental sustainability projects that promote green spaces. With only one week left, the 2012 awards program invites the general public to decide this year’s winning projects by voting online at http://www.iuowawards.com.
The 2012 program features a variety of outdoor water conservation projects from all over the world, including participation from schools, nonprofits, homeowners, landscapers and community organizations. The program welcomes anyone that has a water conservation project supporting sustainability and green spaces to participate.
All projects can be anonymously voted on by visitors (one vote a day per project, per individual user until 11:59 pm PT on March 15th), and the projects that earn the most votes will be awarded a combined $51,000 in grants to be used towards the completion of their winning project. Multiple winners in each funding category ($1,500, $5,000 and $10,000) will be officially announced on World Water Day – March 22, 2012.
“The quality of projects submitted to the Intelligent Use of Water Awards program this year demonstrates a true global commitment to make meaningful change in outdoor water conservation,” said Dave Johnson, Rain Bird’s director of corporate marketing. “At Rain Bird we work every day to be intelligent about how we use the world’s most precious resource and it is empowering to know that there are so many others that are working for the same cause. We hope that it is programs like this, in addition to others, will move the needle when it comes to promoting green spaces and sustainability.”
Established in 2008, the annual Intelligent Use of Water Awards program recognizes individuals and organizations whose innovation, leadership, ingenuity and dedication to the management and protection of Earth’s most precious natural resource through improved landscape water-efficiency raises the standard for outdoor water conservation. Last year, the Intelligent Use of Water Awards program was transformed into a social media platform aimed to encourage and fund future water conservation projects.
In developing the program, Rain Bird has assembled a team of partners that share the common goal of helping individuals and organizations make an impact in their community through the Intelligent Use of Water. Partnering in support of the Intelligent Use of Water Awards program are The Alliance for Water Efficiency, The American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA), The Council for Watershed Health, The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) and the Environmental Institute for Golf (EIG), Golfdom magazine, Growing A Greener World, Landscape Management Magazine, The National Gardening Association, Pebble Beach Resorts, Project WET, Smart Approved WaterMark, The Gardener Guy, and The Groundwater Foundation.
For more information on the Intelligent Use of Water Awards, please visit http://www.iuowawards.com. Become a fan of Rain Bird on Facebook, and follow Rain Bird on Twitter, @RainBirdCorp.
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