Congratulations to 2017 Bullitt Environmental Prize – Cornelius Adewale
The 2017 winner started an organic farm in Nigeria on five acres of abandoned land and used his earnings to study at Washington State University
On October 30th, 2017 this year’s Bullitt Environmental Fellow was honored at the 11th annual Bullitt Prize Awards Dinner. This year’s Fellow is Cornelius Adewale, a PhD student at Washington State University’s School of the Environment. Adwale hopes to apply his knowledge to farms in his homeland of Nigeria.
The Bullitt Environmental Prize is awarded to people who have overcome big obstacles and who bring new perspectives to environmental work. Raised on a farm, Adewale overcame childhood poverty to earn a Bachelor degree in Agricultural Economics from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria. Despite a job offer from international firm Accenture, he instead pursued his passion for organic farming, creating a successful business from only a few dollars. Following his dream, he applied and left for graduate school to pursue his PhD with only enough funds to cover his first semester – and has since emerged as a student and community leader. Adewale has been working with a team of students at WSU to create the online tool Ofoot, designed to help farmers measure and reduce their carbon footprint by how they farm and currently serves as Treasurer on the Board of Washington’s Tilth Alliance.
The 2017 Bullitt Prize was presented to Adewale at an awards banquet in Seattle, with David Montgomery – University of Washington Professor and published author – offering the keynote presentation.
Bullitt Prize winners receive $100,000 over two years to advance their work. Past winners include a veterinarian who offers a free clinic for pets of homeless Seattle residents, a researcher focused on climate change adaptation, and an advocate for food security.