Wyland Foundation And Toyota Announce Winning Cities Of Mayor's Water Conservation Challenge

-- Wyland Foundation and Toyota encouraged U.S. residents to take online pledge to save resources during Earth Month to be eligible to win a Toyota Prius c

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Toyota

May 03, 2012, 11:00 ET

MIAMI, May 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wyland Foundation and Toyota today announced the 12 winning cities of the 2012 National Mayor's Challenge for Water Conservation, an online competition held throughout April that encouraged residents in all 50 states to conserve water, save energy and reduce pollution. The winning cities are:

Laguna Beach, California
Victoria, Minnesota
South Shore, Kentucky
Charlestown, New Hampshire
Manhattan Beach, California
Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Fort Pierce, Florida
Quakertown, Pennsylvania
Greeley, Colorado
Madison, Wisconsin
Charlottesville, Virginia
Toms River, New Jersey

The Wyland Foundation, founded by renowned environmental artist Wyland, created the Challenge with Toyota in honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act, the primary federal law protecting water resources in the United States. Organizations spearheading the effort also include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water, U.S. Forest Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, WaterPik, Rain Bird, Lowe's, STERLING Plumbing, PADI and Project AWARE.

"We had two goals for the National Mayor's Challenge," said artist and environmentalist Wyland, who spearheaded the project. "It brings communities together and gets people thinking about simple ways to take their commitment to conservation even further."

The Challenge divided cities into four regions (West, Midwest, South and Northeast) and categorized them by population according to ZIP Codes (5,000-30,000 residents, 30,001-100,000 residents, 100,000+ residents). Cities with the highest percentage of residents within the city's ZIP code boundaries who made online pledges at www.mywaterpledge.com to reduce their water use were recognized as the winners. Participants in the winning cities will now be entered into a drawing to win more than $50,000 in prizes, including the Grand Prize of a Toyota Prius c Hybrid, as well as custom-designed sprinkler systems from Rain Bird, Eco-Flow Showerheads from WaterPik, water-saving toilets from STERLING Plumbing, and 1,000 gift cards for Lowe's Home Improvement Stores.

"Toyota congratulates all of the winners of the National Mayor's Challenge for Water Conservation, and we thank the Wyland Foundation for creating a fun and innovative program to show how easy it can be to conserve water," said Michael Rouse, vice president of philanthropy and community affairs for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.

"Conserving water is one of the most important actions we can take to protect this irreplaceable resource, and small actions that people take in their homes can add up to make a big difference," said U.S. EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for Water Nancy Stoner. "EPA was proud to partner with the Wyland Foundation and Toyota on this challenge and congratulates the winning cities, and everyone who participated."

To celebrate the winners of the National Mayor's Challenge for Water Conservation, the Wyland Foundation and Toyota hosted an event on May 3 in Miami Beach where Wyland joined members of the community to paint a 400-square-foot marine life mural celebrating South Florida marine life.

Toyota's support of the Wyland Foundation is part of the automobile company's long-standing commitment to sustainability. Toyota engages the public through a variety of environmental initiatives as part of the company's commitment to impactful environmental stewardship. To learn more about how Toyota supports sustainability, please visit www.toyota.com/about/environment.

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE: TM) established operations in the United States in 1957 and currently operates 10 manufacturing plants. Toyota directly employs over 30,000 in the U.S. and its investment here is currently valued at more than $18 billion, including sales and manufacturing operations, research and development, financial services and design.

Toyota is committed to being a good corporate citizen in the communities where it does business and believes in supporting programs with long-term sustainable results. Toyota supports numerous organizations across the country, focusing on education, the environment and safety. Since 1991, Toyota has contributed over half a billion dollars to philanthropic programs in the U.S.

For more information on Toyota's commitment to improving communities nationwide, visit http://www.toyota.com/philanthropy.

About the Wyland Foundation

Founded in 1993 by environmental artist Wyland (best known for his series of 100 monumental marine life murals), the Wyland Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization, is actively engaged in teaching millions of students around the county about our ocean, rivers, lakes streams, and wetlands. The foundation's latest project, FOCUS (Forests, Oceans, Climate – and us) brings together the U.S. Forest Service, NOAA, and numerous non-profits to teach young people about the future of our water supplies, climate, and global health. www.wylandfoundation.org

Media Contact:
Kirsten Clausen
GolinHarris for Toyota
(213) 438-8726
[email protected]

SOURCE Toyota