Canadian Environment Awards Announces Annual Short List of Finalists

The Canadian Environment Awards today announced the short list of finalists who will be honoured during its annual celebration of environmental achievement. Inspired by the community-action objectives of Canadian Environment Week, which takes place this year from June 3 to 9, the
Canadian Environment Awards program is a national, bilingual celebration that recognizes four levels of environmental excellence: Community Awards, Ideas for Life Award, Citation of Lifetime Achievement and The Green Team Challenge.

The Community Awards, the flagship program of the Canadian Environment Awards, celebrates 18 individuals and grassroots groups chosen by a panel of environmental luminaries from nominations submitted by the Canadian public.
“This year’s finalists demonstrate incredible ingenuity and enthusiasm, and I congratulate them all,” says Clive Mather, President and CEO of Shell Canada, the lead corporate sponsor of the Canadian Environment Awards. “Striving to find sustainable solutions to today’s tough environmental challenges demands vision and hard work. These extraordinary Canadians are an inspiration to us all.”

Profiles of the 18 finalists (see reverse), representing six categories of environmental achievement – Climate Change, Conservation, Environmental Health, Environmental Learning, Restoration & Rehabilitation and Sustainable Living – have been published in English and French magazines that will be distributed with Canadian Geographic (www.canadiangeographic.ca/cea), Maclean’s and L’actualit.

In 2007, the Canadian Environment Awards will also present TOHU, la Cit? des arts du cirque, with the Ideas for Life Award, created to recognize environmental action demonstrated through the arts, entertainment and design.
Employing the same ingenuity that has made Quebec the world leader in circus arts, TOHU is a sustainable “green” home for circus arts in Canada, an environmental learning centre and the anchor project for the revitalization of Montr?al’s Saint-Michel neighbourhood.

The program’s top honour, the Citation of Lifetime Achievement, will be presented to biologist and film-maker Jean Lemire, who has dedicated the past 20 years to forging a new model for environmental activism. Fast becoming one of Canada’s most influential environmental ambassadors, Lemire mixes adventure with ecology and brings these stories to life in documentary films. His historic expeditions to the Arctic and the Antarctic have enlightened
audiences around the world about the threats these ecosystems face from climate change.

Jean Lemire will deliver the keynote address at the annual Awards Gala on Monday, June 4, at the Montréal Science Centre. On that night, the Gold and Silver Community Awards winners will be recognized with $5,000 and $2,500 prizes to donate to the environmental cause of their choice. The Junior and Senior winners of The Green Team Challenge, the youth initiative, will also be announced.

The Canadian Environment Awards 2007 is a partnership between the Government of Canada and Canadian Geographic Enterprises, which manages the program and publishes the annual Canadian Environment Awards magazines. The Canadian Environment Awards program is also supported by 14 Canadian corporations, of which Shell Canada is the lead corporate sponsor.

For complete details about the Canadian Environment Awards 2007 or to purchase
tickets to the Awards Gala, visit www.canadiangeographic.ca/cea
FINALISTS FOR THE CANADIAN ENVIRONMENT AWARDS 2007
CITATION OF LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
Jean Lemire; biologist, adventurer and film director and producer;
Montréal, Quebec

IDEAS FOR LIFE AWARD
TOHU, la Cit? des arts du cirque; sustainable centre for circus arts and
environmental learning centre; Montréal, Quebec

COMMUNITY AWARDS FINALISTS

CLIMATE CHANGE

• Clean Air Foundation, Car Heaven; Toronto, Ontario
• Conseil regional de l’environnement de l’Estrie, sustainable
  transportation program; Sherbrooke, Quebec
• Stuart Hickox, Project Porchlight; Ottawa, Ontario

CONSERVATION

• Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society/Yukon Chapter, Three Rivers Journey; Whitehorse, Yukon
• Mike James and Kathleen Martin, Nova Scotia Leatherback Turtle Working Group; Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Native Orchid Conservation Inc., protectors of mini-ecosystems and their plant communities; Winnipeg, Manitoba

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

• Lac La Biche Watershed Steering Committee, community-based water-quality champions; Lakeland County, Alberta
• Lake Winnipeg Research Consortium Inc., multi-stakeholder research and education group; Gimli, Manitoba
• Nunavik Research Centre, Inuit-managed environmental-health facility; Kuujjuaq, Quebec

ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING

• Humber Arm Environmental Association, Trading Books for Boats; Corner
  Brook, Newfoundland
• Lucie Sauvé, Canada Research Chair in Environmental Education; Montréal, Quebec
• Jim Taylor, founder of the E-Team; Mission, British Columbia

 

RESTORATION & REHABILITATION

• Junction Creek Stewardship Committee, community creek restoration group; Sudbury, Ontario
• Nile Creek Enhancement Society, salmon-habitat restoration project; Bowser, British Columbia
• Tree Canada, foundation dedicated to planting trees throughout Canada; Ottawa, Ontario

SUSTAINABLE LIVING

• Community Environment Alliance of Peel, Share-IT: Computers for
  Community; Brampton, Ontario
• Eco-quartier Jeanne-Mance/Mile End, Tourne-Sol Community Composting Centre; Montreal, Quebec
• George McCubbin, advocate for eco-efficiencies in multi-unit residences; Lindsay, Ontario

For complete details on the Canadian Environment Awards 2007, visit www.canadiangeographic.ca/cea

For further information: Diane Chaperon-Lor, Public Relations Manager,
Canadian Environment Awards, Telephone: (416) 653-0849, Cellphone: (416)
788-8271, E-mail: chaperonlor@canadiangeographic.ca