About the Award
The Charles E. Bennett Champion of the Environment Award was first established at the Florida Coastal School of Law and was given out by the Law School for three years. After the Law School reorganized, the Environmental Protection Board was approached to continue giving this award in honor of Jacksonville’s Original Environmental Champion.
The Charles E. Bennett Champion of the Environment Award seeks to highlight and acknowledge an individual who has exhibited, over a long-term, professionalism, diligence and an unwavering commitment as a Champion of the Environment in protecting or preserving the natural resources of Duval County.
Past Winners include:
- Congressman Charles Bennett
- Walt Bussells - JEA
- Neil Armingeon - St Johns Riverkeeper
- Linda Bremer - Sierra Club
- Dr. Todd Stack - EPB
- Robert Schuster –EPB
- Mark Middlebrook - Preservation Project
- Mayor John Delaney
- State Senator John Thrasher
- Barbara Broward - EPB
- Richard Maguire
- Warren Anderson
- Barbara Goodman
- William "Bill" Brinton
- John Crescimbeni
- Tracey Arpen
- Dr. Lucinda B. Sonnenberg, Ph.D.
- Lisa Rinaman
- Barbara Ketchum
- Susan Caven
Winner of the 2025 Charles E. Bennett Award
The 2025 award was presented to Peggy Bryan at the JEPB Awards Luncheon in November 2025.
Peggy was a co-founder and vice-president of Shadowlawn Nursery in Clay County, which grew thousands of trees for use by area landscapers. Shadowlawn cultivated and patented the Cathedral Live Oak, whose upright growth and canopy shape made it an ideal street tree for urban settings.
She is a long-time board member and past president of Greenscape of Jacksonville. Recognizing that a tree’s needs don’t end when it is planted, Peggy created Greenscape’s Urban Tree Ranger program, which mobilized teams of volunteers to return to the site of Greenscape tree planting projects to properly prune the planted trees. The program received well-deserved recognition from the Florida Urban Forestry Council. Peggy’s program lives on today as the Greenscape Tree Keepers Maintenance Pruning Program.
Peggy truly appreciates the difference trees can make to the physical and mental health of individuals. Her Serenity Gardens project at Gateway – Steps to Recovery is a perfect example. Peggy led the effort to transform a largely-barren courtyard at a drug and alcohol residential treatment facility into a shaded, landscaped and calming space.
Peggy co-founded the Root Ball. She has donated hundreds of trees to Greenscape through the Treemomma Project for Downtown beautification, to LISC Jacksonville’s urban neighborhood revitalization programs and many other organizations. In continuing the Bryan family's long term commitment to the Episcopal School of Jacksonville, Peggy was able to further her love of landscaping throughout the campus as she repeatedly served on the board and co-chaired capital campaigns. For more than 20 years, she has volunteered at PACE working particularly with fund raising and landscaping its campus. In addition to numerous awards and achievements, Peggy was the 2015 EVE Awards Arnolta J. “Mama” Williams Lifetime Achievement Honoree.