On April 10, the city of Issaquah named former Mayor Ava Frisinger and the Issaquah Highlands Community Association as recipients of city environmental awards.

Frisinger is the recipient of the 2015 Ruth Kees Environmental Award. The award recognizes individuals who have shown themselves to be exemplary advocates for the environment.

Frisinger is a docent and president of the board of directors for the Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery. She is additionally a board member of the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust and a former board member of regional salmon conservation group WRIA 8.

The Issaquah Highlands Community Association is the first recipient of the Community Environmental Award, which the city of Issaquah plans to award annually.

The award was created to recognize outstanding achievements in conservation, protection and preservation of Issaquah’s environmental resources through community action. It can be awarded to individuals, groups or organizations.

A press release from the city lauded the Association’s sustainable landscape management practices, wetland restoration and preservation, as well as their use of innovations such as goat-powered weeding.