City presented DAR award for dark skies

The Sarah Pound Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution presented the city of Dripping Springs with the organization’s Conservation Award for the promotion of the Dark Sky Initiative. This award commends the city for outstanding achievement for environmental awareness.

The Daughters of the American Revolution is a non-political volunteer women's service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history and securing America's future through better education for children. The DAR annually devotes thousands of hours in service to the community of Dripping Springs.

“The Sarah Pound Chapter recommended to our national office that the organization's Conservation Award be presented to the City of Dripping Springs for your work to promote the dark sky initiative,” said Gigi Sanchez, regent of the Sarah Pound Chapter.

Letters of recommendation were solicited and received, including from Soil Sussman of Hays County Friends of the Night Sky and Cindy Luongo Cassidy of Dark Sky Texas. Information from the city's website regarding the outdoor lighting ordinance and ongoing efforts to promote responsible lighting policies and education, as well as local newspaper articles, were submitted to demonstrate the City's dedication to preserving the night sky.

Upon examining this information, the research supporting the many benefits of dark skies and the fact that Dripping Springs was the very first city in Texas to receive recognition as an international dark sky community and is providing assistance to other Texas cities now, the DAR’s Texas State Regent selected Dripping Springs as the 2024 State of Texas recipient of Daughters of the American Revolution Conservation Award.

City Administrator Michelle Fischer was invited to the DAR’s State Conference event to receive the award. “At the conference, I explained the commitment the city has made to these initiatives and just how important Dark Sky Texas is to us,” Fischer said. “It was an honor to be able to receive this award.”

Fischer was also personally recognized for her direct and ongoing commitment to the Dark Sky Initiative and received an award at the Dripping Springs City Council meeting on March 19 that reads, “The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Conservation Committee, dedicated to the preservation of the national resources of our country, its soils, minerals, forests, waters and wildlife, presents this certificate to Michelle Fischer in recognition of outstanding achievement for environmental awareness.'

For more information on the city of Dripping Springs Community Initiatives, visit cityofdrippingsprings. com/ community-initiatives or call the city at (512) 858-4725.