For 15 years, Maria Martinez has restlessly fought for Barrio Logan to have less pollution.

“I’ve seen many improvements in these years,” said Martinez, who is mother to three children. “Before, I never looked at my surroundings. Now I see the difference.”

Lorena Chavez has also donated her time to help assure that Old Town National City is free from the toxic chemicals released by autobody shops.

“I feel more secure when I raise my voice,” Chavez said. “It is very important for me as a member of the community to participate in this.”

Erick and Axelia Ortega have also done their part to help Logan Heights residents enjoy better air quality.

“As part of the community, we try to help in whatever we can,” Erick Ortega said. “This is a years-long struggle.”

All of these people and families, residents of some of the most polluted areas in all of San Diego County, have given a lot of themselves to support the Environmental Health Coalition, one of the organizations that fights the most for environmental justice in the southern portion of San Diego.

Last week, on Thursday, April 10th, Environmental Health Coalition took the time to recognize Martinez, Chavez, and the Ortegas, and many other community members who are part of the Community Action Teams, volunteers who go out to the streets in their neighborhoods to demand purer air, to demand cleaner air, to demand the right of children to be healthier.

During the 2014 Awards Celebration: Victory for Healthy Communities ceremony at Casa del Prado in Balboa Park, all of these volunteers received the Community Award, which recognizes that intense hard work that these members of the community have done for years to create healthier and self-sufficient neighborhoods.

“They’re the heart and soul of Environmental Health Coalition,” said Executive Director Diane Takvorian. “From a community organization perspective, it is important that the same residents in the community we serve make their own decisions. They’re people who really want to get involved and make positive changes in their neighborhoods.”

As part of the current five Community Action Teams (distributed from Logan Heights to Tijuana), volunteers receive training on environmental law, tenant rights, and public speaking. More than anything, they get prepared to become leaders in their communities, Takvorian said.

Martinez, for example, said that before she was afraid to talk to other people. Now, she feels confident and knows her rights. The 38-year-old mother said that she took the first step to improve her community when her son was diagnosed with asthma when he was in third grade.

“A lot of us, since we are low-income, we only focus on going from our house to work, and from work to our house,” said Martinez, who is also a community promotora for EHC. “We don’t notice or we don’t care about what’s going on around us. Or maybe we think that they won’t pay attention to us. But I’m proof that one does have a voice and that we should make it be heard.”

In addition to the Community Award for the Community Action Teams, Environmental Health Coalition also gave awards to Ruth Heifetz for a lifetime dedicated to environmental justice; to Alejandra Sotelo-Solis, the National City councilmember who has helped improve the quality of life in her city; and to Lara Gates for being the voice of the City of San Diego in the Barrio Logan Community Plan updates.

“With these awards we’re celebrating healthy communities; we’re celebrating the successes we’ve achieved in these communities,” Takvorian said.

To learn more about the work of the Environmental Health Coalition, please visit www.environmentalhealth.org.