The City of Campbell River Stewardship Award ceremony presented seven honours during the Sept. 24 Fall Festival at Haig-Brown House.
“As we listened to Stacey Larsen from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans outline the recipients various achievements, we were moved by the depth of involvement of schools this year,” says Mayor Andy Adams. “It is encouraging to see the students working with the local stream stewards and educators and using our green spaces as a living classroom.”
Mayor Adams was joined on stage by Councillors Marlene Wright and Larry Samson to congratulate the recipients on their accomplishments and to thank them for their stewardship service.
The first presentation awarded the Tom Easton Memorial Bursary. Tom was a well-known and very active Simms Creek steward. Carole Easton helps select recipients of the bursary set up by family and friends to honour her late husband. The bursary recognizes a student who has made a significant stewardship contribution and is entering, or returning to, an accredited post-secondary institution in environmental studies.
Emily Lohn received the bursary. Her multi-year volunteer record includes fish measurements and salmon enhancement, aquarium jellyfish exhibit collections, and invasive plant removals while in Grade 11 with teacher Dan Klinka at Timberline. She has also volunteered at Tahsis and Puntledge Hatcheries. Emily is enrolled at North Island College in the dual admission program for her Bachelors degree in Biology. She will be transferring to UVic to focus on marine biology and her goal is to specialize in shark research.
2017 Stewardship Award recipients:
Karen Baily: Air Quality / Alternative Transportation – for being an exceptional cycling role model, logging an impressive 10,000 km per year. Karen vacations and commutes by bicycle. Since 2008, she’s been riding to work at Timberline, in all weather conditions. She has also run an Earth Club on and off for more than 20 years, and the Timberline club has been active for about seven years with students participating at school events including a film series.
Louise Guevremont, Principal Ecole Willow Point: Youth Special Recognition – Under Louise’s leadership, the school arranged for all classes to head outdoors to understand the role of native recyclers and human litter. They became a Wild School in 2016 and work with local stewards to restore portions of Larwood Creek.
Catherine Menard, Grade 5/6 teacher at Ecole Mer-et-Montagne: Waste Reduction – After working on drinking water conservation, Catherine arranged for place-based waste reduction education at the entire school. Throughout Earth Week in 2015, every class from kindergarten to Grade 7 engaged in outdoor and indoor sessions. Catherine then turned her Grade 5/6 class into the school’s Waste Reduction Leaders.
Ann Hazlett: Pesticide Free / Urban Agriculture – Ann’s years of local food advocacy include work with the Campbellton Community Garden and Strathcona Food Network as well as with the City to organize Campbell River’s first Seedy Sunday event in March this year, where she sold seeds from the Community Garden.
Dave Hadden: Habitat Protection / Creation – Dave has more than 25 years of stewardship history. Dave’s concern for the environment was first piqued by a summer job laying bricks in Campbell River. He didn’t know it then, but his job was putting Kingfisher Creek into the storm drain system under Campbellton. Ever since, he has worked diligently to give back to the creek and local fisheries.
Chuck DeSorcy: Environmental Excellence – Chuck is a true force for nature and has been volunteering (at least) since Greenways Land Trust was created in 1996. Since retiring in 2013, Chuck has volunteered almost full-time, donating hundreds of hours annually with Greenways to mentor school groups on local restoration projects. Chuck spearheaded and supervised school restoration work at Millennium Park (Willow Creek Estuary) and has championed restoration of Kingfisher Creek, urban food production and urban forest management.