The Virginia Beach CVB is proud to announce that four Virginia Beach businesses have been awarded by the Virginia Green Travel Alliance for their steadfast sustainability work and for helping keep Virginia Beach Virginia Green! A huge shout out and congratulations go out to:
2021 Most Innovative Green Projects::
--Croc’s 19th Bistro for their native plant garden
-- Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center for their e-ticketing process, education and waste reduction
2021 Green Team All-Star Award
--Suzanne Moss, The Nature Bus
2021 Virginia Green Travel Leader Award
- Hampton Inn Virginia Beach Oceanfront North
Read the full release and see all the 2021 winners below:
Virginia Green Travel Alliance Announces the Winners of the 2021 Virginia Green Travel Star Awards In Celebration of Earth Day!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – APRIL 21, 2020.
RICHMOND, VA. – In celebration of Earth Day, the Virginia Green Travel Alliance is pleased to announce
the winners of the 2021 Virginia Green Travel Star & Leader Awards. These awards are presented
annually to Virginia’s greenest tourism operators and partners for their outstanding commitments to
sustainability and contributions to green tourism in Virginia. The awards will be “presented virtually” in
conjunction with the Virginia Green Travel Conference & Awards that will be held on April 28 & 29, 2021.
This year, fifteen (15) Virginia tourism operations were chosen to receive the Virginia Green program’s
highest award, the Virginia Green Travel Star Award. Eleven (11) additional tourism businesses are being
recognized with the Virginia Green Travel Leader Award for their continued commitments to environmental
stewardship, and six (6) individuals are receiving the Green Team All-Star Award for their efforts to lead
their organizations’ green program efforts. Additionally, voting for the inaugural Virginia Green Travel
People’s Choice Awards are still underway through April 28th, and those winners will be announced at the
conference on April 29th
Each of the award winners is listed below, and summary slides about their individual efforts can be found
on the 2021 Virginia Green Travel Awards website.
“2020 was an incredibly challenging year for us all in the tourism industry”, said Jack Berry, the CEO of
Richmond Region Tourism and the Board Chairman of the Virginia Green Travel Alliance. “It is exciting to
have the chance to recognize these Virginia Green Travel Partners for their continued commitments to
excellence and to sustainable tourism practices. Moving forward, sustainable tourism will be an integral
part of our industry’s recovery.”
The Virginia Green program is supported through a partnership between the Virginia Department of
Environmental Quality, the Virginia Tourism Corporation, the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel
Association, and the Virginia Green Travel Alliance. The program encourages green practices in all
sectors of Virginia’s tourism industry. More than 1,200 businesses and partner organizations have
voluntarily certified their green business practices through the Virginia Green program.
The 2021 Virginia Green Travel Star Award winners are:
• Green Hotel of the Year Hilton Downtown Richmond
• Green Attraction of the Year Birdsong Pleasure Garden, Luray
• Green Conference Center of the Year Chesapeake Conference Center
• Green Event of the Year The Virginia Living Museum Oyster Roast
• Green Dining Service of the Year JMU’s East Campus Dining Hall
• Green Tours of the Year Shored Up LLC, Hampton
• Green Supplier of the Year Babylon Micro-Farms, Inc., Richmond
• Green Transportation Facility of the Year RVATukTuk, Richmond
• Green Inn of the Year The Red Lantern Inn, Clifton Forge
• Most Innovative Green Projects Croc’s 19th Street Bistro Native Plants Garden,
Virginia Beach
• Most Innovative Green Projects DuCard Vineyards, Sipping for Saplings, Etlan
• Most Innovative Green Projects Powhatan State Park, Paper Waste Reduction
• Most Innovative Green Projects Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Eticketing, education & waste reduction, Virginia Beach
• Most Innovative Green Projects Awesome Oysters LLC, Plastic waste reduction &
solar battery charging, Village
• Most Innovative Green Projects Virginia Living Museum, Green Teens
The 2021 Virginia Green Travel Leader Award winners are:
➢ RVA Environmental Film Festival
➢ Hampton Virginia Beach Oceanfront North
➢ Back INN Time B&B, Kilmarnock
➢ Shady Acres Bed and Breakfast LLC, Hanover
➢ Pathosans, Sanitizing installation with the Virginia Railway Express, Alexandria
➢ Westmoreland State Park, Pollinator Garden
➢ Nauticus, Plastic or Planet? Exhibit, Norfolk
➢ Oak Grove Plantation B&B, Sustainable Renovation of the Little House, South Boston
➢ The Mariners’ Museum and Park, Bumble Bee Garden, Newport News
➢ Hampton Inn Manassas, Pollinator Garden
➢ Natural Bridge State Park, Environmental Education Area
The 2021 Green Team All-Star Award winners are:
➢ Travis Land, Virginia Living Museum
➢ Suzanne Moss, The Nature Bus, Virginia Beach
➢ Karen Riddle, Shadow Mountain Escape, Luray
➢ Jenny Elmes, full circle catering, Lexington
➢ Deck Hankins, Go Green Distributors
➢ Phil Irwin, Caledonia Farm 1812, Flint Hill
If you would like more information about the awards, please contact Tom Griffin of the Virginia Green
Virginia Green Travel Alliance www.VirginiaGreen.net 804.986.9119 VirginiaGreenTA@gmail.com
Travel Alliance at (804) 986-9119 or Virginiagreenta@gmail.com .
Links & Resources
➢ Awards website hosted by the Virginia Green Travel Alliance -- www.virginiagreen.net/virgi
