TORONTO, May 21 /CNW/ – 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 1 to 7, the Canadian Environment Awards program is a national bilingual celebration that recognizes four levels of environmental excellence: Community Awards, Citation of Lifetime Achievement, the Ideas for Life(TM) Award and The Green Team Challenge.
The Community Awards, the flagship program of the Canadian Environment Awards, celebrates 18 individuals and grassroots groups that have been chosen by a panel of environmental luminaries from nominations submitted by the Canadian public. “This year’s finalists demonstrate tremendous ingenuity and determination, and I congratulate them,” says David Collyer, president of Shell Canada, the lead corporate sponsor of the Canadian Environment Awards. “Striving to find sustainable solutions to today’s tough environmental
challenges demands creativity and persistence. These extraordinary Canadians are an inspiration to us all.” Profiles of the 18 finalists (see below), 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.
In 2008, the Canadian Environment Awards will also present Edward
Burtynsky with the Ideas for Life(TM) Award, created to recognize
environmental action demonstrated through the arts, entertainment and
design.
Burtynsky is one of Canada’s most innovative and respected
photographers, recognized for his extraordinary large-format
photographic renderings of industrial landscapes.
The program’s top honour, the Citation of Lifetime Achievement, will be
presented to Maude Barlow, who for 25 years has been a fierce advocate
for the rights of Canadians and for Canadian sovereignty on economic,
trade and social issues that have a deep connection to the environment.
Barlow’s most recent campaign focuses on the world’s water crisis.
Maude Barlow will deliver the keynote address at the annual Awards
Gala, which will be held on Monday, June 2, at the Liberty Grand
Entertainment Complex in Toronto. On that night,
the Gold and Silver Community Awards winners will be recognized with
$5,000 and $2,500 prizes, respectively, to donate to the environmental
cause of their choice. The Junior and Senior winners of The Green Team
Challenge, which is the youth initiative, will also be announced on
this occasion.
The Canadian Environment Awards program was founded in 2002 as a
partnership between the Government of Canada and Canadian Geographic
Enterprises, which manages the program and publishes the magazines. The
Canadian Environment Awards is also supported by nine Canadian
corporations.
Shell Canada is the lead corporate sponsor. For complete details of the
Canadian Environment Awards 2008 or to purchase tickets to the Awards
Gala, visit www.canadiangeographic.ca/cea.
FINALISTS FOR THE CANADIAN ENVIRONMENT AWARDS 2008
CITATION OF LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT 2008
Maude Barlow, activist, advocate and chair of The Council of Canadians, Ottawa, Ontario
IDEAS FOR LIFE(TM) AWARD 2008
Edward Burtynsky, photographer, Toronto, Ontario
COMMUNITY AWARDS FINALISTS 2008
Climate Change
Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology Student
Volunteers, Share the Warmth(TM) Home Energy-Efficiency Project, Moose Jaw,
Saskatchewan
Judith Sayers, Hupacasath First Nation/Upnit Power Corporation, Port
Alberni, British Columbia
Zerofootprint, carbon-reduction network for consumers and businesses,
Toronto, Ontario
Conservation
Appalachian Corridor Appalachien, transborder conservation initiative,
Lac-Brome, Québec
Jon Lien, founder, Whale Research Group of Memorial University, Portugal
Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador
Ocean Net, shoreline cleanup program, St. John’s, Newfoundland and
Labrador
Environmental Health
Jim Brophy and Margaret Keith, community health advocates, Windsor,
Ontario
Clean Air Foundation, Switch Out and Switch the ‘Stat, Toronto, Ontario
Evergreen, national program to create outdoor classrooms for play and
learning, Toronto, Ontario
Environmental Learning
André Bélisle, clean-air and climate-change activist,
Saint-Léon-de-Standon, Québec
Club agroenvironnemental du bassin La Guerre, council for the promotion
and development of sustainable agriculture, Saint-Anicet, Québec
Etablissements verts Brundtland, education for a sustainable future,
Québec, Québec
Restoration & Rehabilitation
Alberta Birds of Prey Foundation and the Town of Coaldale, community
raptor rehabilitation and education centre, Coaldale, Alberta
Comité ZIP Jacques-Cartier, group for the enhancement of the St. Lawrence
River at Montréal, Québec
Gerard Nellestijn, Salmo Watershed Streamkeepers Society, Salmo, British
Columbia
Sustainable Living
Local Food Plus, network for the certification and promotion of locally
produced food, Toronto, Ontario
The Otesha Project, national youth-driven sustainability campaign,
Ottawa, Ontario
The Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul, Heirloom Seed
Sanctuary, Kingston, Ontario
THE GREEN TEAM CHALLENGE 2008
JUNIOR: Dunrankin Drive Public School, Mississauga, Ontario
SENIOR: Henry Street High School, Whitby, Ontario
For complete details of the Canadian Environment Awards 2008, visit
www.canadiangeographic.ca/cea.
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/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/
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