​​​​​​​​LSRCA Hands Out Environmental Awards

Annual Evening Celebrates the Efforts of Environmental Champions

​NEWMARKET – November 8, 2019 – At its 38^th annual Conservation Awards ceremony on Thursday, November 7, 2019, the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA) paid tribute to 21 individuals, businesses and groups who are working in their communities to improve our environment. 

​​During his remarks, York Region Chair and LSRCA Chair Wayne Emmerson spoke to the outstanding achievements of the award winners. “Each and every one of our recipients is making a positive difference in our watershed. Their passion and dedication is inspiring. Tonight, we thank them, we honour them and we share their stories as they are an inspiration for others.”

Emceed by Jennifer Anderson of Rogers TV’s The Parenting Show and former LSRCA Media Recognition Award winner, the ceremony took place at Madsen’s Greenhouse in Newmarket. Jennifer shared winning entry highlights touching on the passion of the people behind the projects.

Accolades went out to this year’s recipients as follows:

Ernie Crossland Young Conservationist Award

Nari Hwang (watershed wide) is a Grade 6 student at Shanty Bay Public School. She’s made art out of garbage and plastics to bring awareness to the amount of plastic garbage found in rivers, oceans, lakes and streams and the negative effect these items have on the environment throughout the world. She is passionate about protecting Lake Simcoe from pollutants and plastics and keeping the lake healthy. She is an avid blogger on her site Make Clean Water Happen where she offers tips on reducing one’s impact on the environment. She has spoken at school assemblies on how plastic garbage impacts natural habitats and the environment, has written an editorial on water pollution and most recently, has created a video entitled “Eulogy for Lake Simcoe”, a living eulogy to bring attention to the negative effects climate change, plastics and invasive species can have on the health of the lake.

Healthy Community Award

1. Brechin Public School (Brechin, Brock Township) – For planning, educating and leading the student body in support of various environmental initiatives.
2. Durham Shredders (Durham Region) – For promoting land stewardship and teaching riders about trail etiquette.
3. Eco-Guardian (Newmarket) – For promoting pure products for a clean future by reducing the impact of waste on the environment.
4. ​Noeline Burk (Newmarket) – For her leadership in attaining the Platinum Ontario EcoSchools certification and overseeing several environmental initiatives.
5. Ross James (Sunderland) – For collecting and providing over 25 years of in-depth handwritten notes on a wide variety of species living in the Beaver River wetland. 
6. Roy Alexander (East Gwillimbury, Newmarket) – For organizing community clean ups and educating people on respecting natural spaces.
7. Tanya Murray (Newmarket) – For raising the profile of outdoor and environmental education.

Healthy Land Award

1. Dan Sopuch (Bradford West Gwillimbury) – For reducing soil erosion on his farm by planting cover crops and installing tile outlet control structures.
2. David Barton (Township of King) – For planting 3,000 trees and shrubs on his property.
3. Hillside Gardens (Bradford West Gwillimbury) – For interseeding their fields and installing a new dry feed system and star finger de-dirter at the front end of their vegetable processing plant.
4. Hollandale Farms (Township of King) – For reducing soil erosion by using cover crops and interseeding and for installing de-dirting equipment to improve their harvester’s efficiency.
5. OFA Durham Region – Jim Carson; OFA Simcoe County – Dave Lucas; OFA York Region – Bart Johnson – For their many years of dedicated service to review restoration projects and provide valuable comments and feedback. 
   
6. Nick and Ted Mendrek (Holland Marsh) – For completing several projects to help conserve soil and prevent soil erosion.
7. Susan and Charles Larkin (Sutton West) – For planting 2,390 trees and shrubs in 2018 & 2019.
8. Tatiana Mitchell (Oro-Medonte) – For removing non-native plant species from her garden and planting an all native plant selection to support beneficial pollinators.
   

Healthy Water Award

1. City of Barrie – For developing strategies to minimize salt use to ensure roads and sidewalks are safe in the winter.
2. Town of Aurora – For reducing application rates, material usage, transportation and street sweeping costs as part of their winter maintenance activities.
3. Town of East Gwillimbury – For implementing a winter maintenance strategy that includes using a liquid salt-solution to anti-ice roads.
4. Town of Newmarket – For testing different application rates of sand/salt mixtures as part of their winter maintenance practices.
5. Floyd Hales Fish Huts, Bear Point Fish Huts, Jason’s Fish Huts, Hot Box Fish Huts – For taking part in a pilot project to collect water samples from multiple ice huts across Lake Simcoe.
6. ​City of Richmond Hill – For preparing and delivering training modules to Lake Simcoe watershed municipalities on conducting Stormwater Management pond inspections and maintenance activities.
7. Town of Aurora – For removing a barrier and constructing a new bridge that enables coldwater fish to migrate through a tributary to get to their spawning grounds.​