Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort was honored by Clif Bar and the National Ski Areas Association as the recipient of the 2010 Silver Eagle Award for Environmental Education. This is the second time Sierra has won this award.

“Climate change presents a major and imminent challenge to everyone who enjoys the outdoors, especially when snow and winter activities are involved,” Ricardo Balazs, sports marketing experience manager for Clif Bar & Company, said in a press release. “We’re proud to support the ski industry’s efforts to address global warming and hope the Golden Eagle Awards will inspire others to take action as well.”

Established in 1993, the Golden Eagle Awards for Environmental Excellence recognize the environmental achievements of ski areas. The awards honor members of the NSAA, which represents the majority of ski area owners and operators in North America. Clif Bar & Company, which employs wind energy, biodiesel, waste reduction and other initiatives to reduce its own footprint on the planet, is the administrator of the awards program.

The award for Environmental Education was given to Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort to recognize a three-part educational campaign aimed at raising awareness among youth about the amount of trash people generate and educating youth about how to reduce waste. The message: “You can make a difference, every day, every time, by choosing to responsibly dispose of the waste you create.” In 2009, Sierra reached out to almost 3,000 local students through bottle top collection and on-mountain trash clean-up efforts. The resort also partnered with TransWorld Snowboarding to create a short video titled “Environmental Awakening” that aired nationally to millions of viewers on MTV2.

Other finalists for the category award included Telluride Resort in Colorado and Whistler Blackcomb in Canada.