Three Lackawanna County residents are being celebrated for their conservation efforts.

PennFuture, an environmental watchdog organization committed to protecting the air, water and land and empowering citizens to build sustainable communities for future generations, recently announced the recipients of its 2021 Celebrating Women in Conservation Awards.

The ceremony will be broadcast live on the Zoom platform at 6 p.m. on Sept. 9. Tickets may be purchased for $40 and will provide virtual attendees with log-in credentials for the program. The winners will receive their awards in person.

Travis DiNicola, director of development for PennFuture, said there is a lot of competition for the annual awards.

“We had close to 50 nominations for the 11 awards,” he said. “The nominations run from a few sentences to almost short novels. We have a committee made up of board members, staff and volunteers who read through them and discuss them.”

Diana Dakey, 68, of Glenburn Twp., was honored with the Woman of Climate and Renewable Energy award.

Dakey serves as a volunteer advocate for the environment and good government through Protect Northern PA, PennFuture, the League of Women Voters of Lackawanna County, Open Primaries PA and Fair Districts PA.

She attributes early education for spurring her interest in conservation.

“I have to credit my parents for being the first environmentalists I knew,” Dakey said. “Literature would come to the house from various organizations and I initially became aware of environmental issues in that way.”

Dakey first became involved with PennFuture in the mid-’90s while living in Dauphin County and has been a member of its board since 2016.

“I feel I’m acting upon my beliefs that people should give to their communities,” she said. “My way of giving is to support the well-being of the community. The environment belongs to everybody and I get personal satisfaction from working in that sphere.”

Jessica Nolan, Ph.D., 45, of Scranton, received the Woman of Environmental Education award.

Nolan, a professor of conservation psychology and director of environmental studies at the University of Scranton, fondly recalls short ventures into the great outdoors when living in New York City growing up.

“I was born and raised in the Bronx, so pretty much a concrete jungle, but I always loved nature,” she said. “I had some experiences out in nature with my family, taking trips up to Bear Mountain outside New York City and Candlewood Lake in Connecticut. It was a place to connect with family, and explore and be free as a child.”

Nolan further developed her passion for improving nature while she was a member of the Girl Scouts.

“I did lots of cleanups and developed the sense that it’s our job to care for the planet and for each other, and leave a place better than you found it,” she said. “I think some of those early life experiences shaped my interest in environmental protection.”

Nolan admitted her instructional methods may seem unorthodox.

“My approach to environmental education is a little bit different,” she said. “My focus is on teaching people how they can best persuade other people to take action to protect the environment.”

Rashida Lovely, 44, of Dunmore, received the Woman of Environmental Justice award.

She runs a summer STEAM program through her business, Newave Studios, to teach underprivileged children how to value the environment.

“I felt kids need to be taught about how to conserve energy and care for the environment,” Lovely said. “When you become an adult, it kind of feels like a chore, but if you grow up with it you’re less inclined not to continue doing it.”

She takes children from the inner city to a plot of land in Scranton each summer where they learn to fish and clean the area.

She said the children also learn the basics for growing a garden.

“A lot of times the kids don’t connect with eating vegetables, but when they grow them and eat them it excites them and motivates me because it changes their eating habits,” Lovely said.