By Cody Mello-Klein | cmelloklein@alextimes.com

Jack Sullivan received the Ellen Pickering Environmental Excellence Award during a ceremony on Sunday, recognizing his ongoing commitment to and advocacy for preservation in the city, according to a news release.

The Alexandria Environmental Policy Commission and Alexandria Renew Enterprises presented the award to Sullivan at Ben Brenman Park during one of the city’s Earth Day events.

A long-time Alexandria resident and volunteer, Sullivan has spent decades working to improve the city’s green spaces and waterways, according to the release. Over the years, he has served on various commissions and committees, including the city’s first waterfront committee, now known as the Waterfront Commission, and the ad hoc combined sewer system plan stakeholder group.

One of his greatest contributions was his work on the citizen advisory panel that contributed to the 101-acre transfer of Cameron Station from the U.S. Army to the city. With the panel’s help, the city was able to retain 62 acres and make it into what is now Ben Brenman Park. Sullivan was also involved in establishing Seminary Hill’s Battery Heights open space easement in the 1990s. The effort resulted in the creation of a permanent easement on land that flows into Strawberry Run and is now held by the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust.