via treehugger.com

The young people have spoken and the orange blimps have been passed out to their favorites from the worlds of film, music, sports, and television. The 22nd annual Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards was held this Saturday and one very hunky CGG favorite received a blimp of a different color: green.

The Academy Award-nominated star, Leonardo DiCaprio, was given the first-ever “Big Green Help Award” in recognition for his dedication to the green cause and his significant contribution toward helping the environment, and for inspiring kids to do the same.

Dwayne Johnson (aka "The Rock) hosted the event and Cameron Diaz, Leo’s longtime coworker and friend, presented him with the award at the ceremony. The green blimp is part of Nickelodeon’s "Big Green Help" campaign—a multiplatform, global pro-social campaign designed to empower young people to take action on the environment and connect them with green activities to do in their everyday lives.

Leo told People that environmental policies are “a moral issue and a patriotic issue.” We agree, Leo, and we think that he definitely deserved an award for his consistent work with this issue, especially because of his own foundation, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, which he began almost 10 years ago to foster awareness on environmental issues.

After serving as global chairman of Earth Day 2000, he began his latest project, the award-winning environmental documentary The 11th Hour. The film takes off where Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth left off, giving the hard, cold truth about global warming.

Do you want to become part of the Big Green Help and help Leo fight green crime? For starters, you can follow the four steps of the Big Green Help: Slow the Flow, Recycle & Precycle, Grow the Green, and Curb the Car. You can also participate in their Earth Day (April 22) energy save effort. Nickelodeon will “Power Down” for 60-seconds and the on-screen message will ask kids to turn off their lights and unplug their electronics—a signal for a year-long promise to engage in environmental action.

Have Leo’s green-ventures inspired you to take action? What other celebs do you think deserve recognition for their environmental work? What are you going to do for Earth Day?! Comment below!

By CGG reporter, Caroline Kotter