News Release Archive
ENVIRONMENT--ENVIRONMENTAL AWARDS
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Environment Minister Wayne Adams praised the winners of this
years Environmental Awards as leaders showing their fellow
citizens the benefits of caring for the environment.
"Actions speak louder than words," he told recipients at a
presentation ceremony in Halifax today. "In your case those
actions are also far more eloquent because they speak for the
earth that has no voice in its future."
The Environmental Awards are a joint presentation of the Nova
Scotia Department of the Environment and the Nova Scotia
Environmental Assessment Board. Awards are presented in seven
categories; business/industrial, education, government,
individual, citizens groups, sustainable development and youth.
Each year the Nova Scotia Environmental Assessment Board calls
for nominations from the general public. The nominees are judged
by the selection committee of the board and the awards are
presented during Environment Week.
The major winners this year included:
BUSINESS/INDUSTRIAL CATEGORY:
Acadian Seaplants Limited
Acadian Seaplants, based in Dartmouth, has operations in
Yarmouth, Shelburne and Pictou Counties as well as smaller
operations in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. The company
harvests natural and cultivated seaweeds and manufactures them in
Nova Scotia into value added products for export. Their products
are exported to over 35 world markets. The company devotes
considerable energy, time and resources to ensure that the
seaweed resources are available, quantified, evaluated and
harvested in a controlled environmentally friendly and
sustainable manner, as well as employing approximately 120 people
and several hundred fishermen harvesters in Nova Scotia and
several hundred more in P.E.I. and New Brunswick.
CITIZEN GROUP/ORGANIZATION CATEGORY:
Pictou County Rivers Association
One nominator states "the Pictou County Rivers Association has
only been in existence for five years but in that short period of
time they have made their environmental presence known to the
community."
The projects completed in 1995 included habitat enhancement. The
major work was done on the Bear Brook system. Members distributed
about 250,000 trout fry in the spring of 1995. Approximately
150,000 of the trout fry came from the trout incubation boxes in
Landsdowne at the Western Provincial Hatchery. About 15,000
salmon fry were available for stocking purposes. The members are
also involved in the River Watch Program, reporting violations of
fishing regulations to the Department of Fisheries & Oceans or
the Environment Department.
The public awareness and education projects include: the printing
of three newsletters; the sponsoring of a fishing expo;
participation in the Pictou County Rivers Association
Appreciation Day; provision of eight cold water aquarium kits to
eight local schools to raise salmon fry from egg; and sponsorship
of a trout fishing derby in Trenton Park for the children.
EDUCATION CATEGORY:
Institut de developpement communautaire, Church Point
The institute has been working on the project Enviro-peche for
over 18 months. It is an awareness program to inform Acadian
students and adults on the problems of pollution related to the
marine environment. The institute uses five different
presentations depending on age of the audience. The pre-school
message is mostly relayed through songs and materials that can be
seen and touched. Elementary level students receive a different
presentation including songs and a life size puppet, named
Picote, showing the causes and effects of marine pollution. The
upper elementary level students are given a visual demonstration
on pollution found in Nova Scotia waters. Presentations for older
students and adults include more detailed information on the
problem and its remedies. The institute's future plans include:
summer camps, developing ideas and progress on the issues of
waste management.
GOVERNMENT CATEGORY:
Certificate of Merit: John Murphy, Stellarton
Mr. Murphy's nominator states "his work had a tremendous impact
on the appearance of the town and on students' attitudes and
awareness of environmental issues. John worked through and with
the town's schools to implement an extremely effective program."
Over 1000 school children and their teachers and some 50 or 60
volunteers participated. Twelve tonnes of garbage were collected.
INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY:
Catherine Crook, Kingston, Kings County
Mrs. Crook was nominated for "The Garden" project, a school
improvement program in Auburn, undertaken through the Evergreen
Foundation. Mrs. Crook was willing to take on the project in
off-school time with the help of some students and staff as well
as her friends.
During the summer, Mrs. Crook and her committee produced a
garden that quickly became the conversation item of the area. The
long term environmental benefit of Mrs. Crook's project was the
creation of a natural windbelt of trees to shade the school and
the parking area. Younger students helped build bird feeders
while the senior classes built composting units. The project has
created a welcoming atmosphere for the school which indicates to
the community that West Kings cares about the school and about
the environment.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CATEGORY:
Habitat Unlimited Society, Antigonish County
The Habitat Unlimited Society was formed in March 1993, as an
advocate for the wise management of the fish and wildlife
resources in Antigonish County. The society has undertaken a
number of projects including the Ohio River Project, the West
River Project, Wright's River Project, the Habitat Unlimited
Society "Salmon Pool" Map and the Brierly Brook Restoration
Project, Phase IV, which was completed in 1995.
The society believes that as stewards of the resource they should
all strive to implement conservation base management plans in all
Antigonish County waterways that will provide both environmental
and economic benefits to the residents.
Committee to Save Kingsburg Beach, Lunenburg County
The Committee to Save Kingsburg Beach consists of 43 active
participants. The objective of the committee was to encourage the
Minister of Natural Resources to designate the beach area as
"protected" under the Beaches Protection Act, declare a
moratorium on further construction and prove by way of an
environmental study that there should be no construction
permitted in this dune/wetland system.
A court case ensued and two of the members were given intervenor
status. The court judgement referred the matter of further
development to the Provincial Cabinet and the Cabinet ruled that
there should be no further development in this sand dune/wetland
system. The case served to raise public awareness of the fact
that construction should not be permitted in sand dunes/wetlands
systems.
YOUTH CATEGORY:
Oasis Environmental Society, Halifax County
In 1994, Oasis, a group of seven young people, between the ages
of 16 and 24, created a summer environmental day camp that
successfully combined recreation with environmental education.
With the support of their municipal recreation department in Cole
Harbour, they garnered support and assistance from a wide variety
of sponsors. The project's success attracted new sponsors and an
additional 15 environmental day camps were set up across Nova
Scotia.
Oasis is currently working with youth in Ontario and New
Brunswick to help pilot the program in other provinces.
Certificates of Merit were also presented to:
Business/Industrial:
Kimberley Clark Nova Scotia
Pictou Harbour Environmental Protection Project
Retail Gasoline Dealers Association, Dartmouth
Citizens Group/Organization
Five Island lake Watershed Environmental Committee, Halifax
Education:
Boulardarie Consolidated School, Cape Breton County
Youth:
Jordan Hanson, Halifax
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EDITORS NOTE: There is an accent aigu on the first "e" in
developpement (Institut de developpement communautaire) and an
accent circonflexe(^) on the first "e" in peche (Enviro-peche).
Contact: Shirley Nicholson 902-424-6387
Paul McEachern 902-424-2575
trp June 05, 1996 - 11:47 a.m.
