Presented by:
Very few burdens are heavy if everyone lifts. ~Sy Wise
Pictures From the 2004 Environmental Symposium
2004 Environmental Leader Recognition Awards
Congratulations to the award winners: Eric Eberhardt, Ryan & Rachel Hacking, Tony & MaryAnn Jackson, Donald McTavish, and Martin Penner
2006
Maude Barlow
Maude Barlow is the National Chairperson of The Council of Canadians, Canada’s largest citizen’s advocacy organization with members and chapters across Canada as well as the co-founder of the Blue Planet Project, which works to stop commodification of the world’s water.
She is also a Director with the International Forum on Globalization, a San Francisco based research and education institution opposed to economic globalization.
Maude is the recipient of numerous educational awards and has received honorary doctorates from six Canadian universities for her social justice work. In addition to being nominated for the “1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005” she is also the recipient of the “2005/2006 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship”. Most recently she received the prestigious “2005 Right Livelihood Award” given by the Swedish Parliament and widely referred to as “The Alternative Nobel.”
She is the best-selling author or co-author of fifteen books. Her most recent publications are Too Close For Comfort: Canada’s Future Within Fortress North America; Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop Corporate Theft of the World’s Water (with Tony Clarke), now published in 40 countries; and Profit is Not the Cure: A Citizens’ Guide to Saving Medicare.
Anita Stewart
Anita Stewart is a Culinary Activist, Author,and Communicator. She is the first Canadian to earn a Master of Arts in Gastronomy from the University of Adelaide in South Australia & Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. She is the first culinary journalist to be given a lifetime membership as a Professional Agrologist by the Ontario Institute of Agrologists for her "oustanding contribution to Ontario agriculture." As a culinary adventurer she has been holding up a mirror to Canada and its people for over 2 decades since the pubication of her first book in 1984. She if the founder and Board Chair of Cuisine Canada. Currently Anita's wrok is published internationally in multiple languages for Slow Food's website and magazine.
John Wilkinson
John Wilkinson, 45, lives in Stratford with his wife and three school age children. Known for his lengthy record of dedicated community service, he is also a very successful small business owner and Certified Financial Planner. An inaugural board member and first chair of the Renaissance in support of the Discovery Centre, John participated in raising an excess of $1.5 million. He is the youngest past-president and senior member of the Kiwanis Club of Stratford and is very active in his church, where he served seven years as finance chair. John's remarkable achievements on behalf of the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation are of special note. In 2002, John was awarded the national Foundations' highest volunteer tribute, the "Julia Award." Recently, he was presented the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in recognition of a decade of outstanding work to help find a cure or control for cystic fibrosis, the leading genetic cause of death in Canadian children. In the Legislature, John serves as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of the Environment, Vice Chair of the Standing Committee on Finance & Economic Affairs as well as a sitting member of two Cabinet Committees: Economic Affairs Policy and Communications. John also serves as Vice Chair of the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation Board of Directors, Vice Chair of the Rural Caucus, and member of the All-Party Cement Caucus.
2004
Severn Cullis-Suzuki
Severn Cullis-Suzuki has been active in environmental and social justice work since kindergarten. At age 11, she started the Environmental Children's Organization, a small group of children committed to learning and teaching other kids about environmental issues. They were successful in raising enough money to appear at 1992's Rio Earth Summit, with the aim of reminding the decision makers of who the conference would ultimately affect. Their goal was reached when 11-year old Severn delivered a powerful speech, at the closing plenary session, which gained worldwide attention.
Since Rio, Severn has given numerous speeches to schools and corporations, and spoken at many conferences and international meetings worldwide. Often speaking on the necessity of redefining our values, acting with the future in mind, and on listening to children, she is passionate about encouraging young people to speak out for their future.
A graduate of Yale University, in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Severn has written numerous articles on environmental issues for magazines and newspapers, and has also published a book with Doubleday, entitled Tell the World. In 1993 she received the UN Environment Program's Global 500 Award at a ceremony in Beijing, China. She has also been seen on numerous episodes of "the Nature of Things", a world reknown CBC television series of which her father David Suzuki is host. Severn will be delivering the keynote speech for the symposium.
Michelle Kanter
Trained as a wildlife biologist, Michelle has extensive experience with conserving Carolinian species and habitats. At the Nature Conservancy of Canada, she worked on acquiring some of the best remaining natural areas in the region including Bickford Oak Woods in Lambton County, Clear Creek Forest in Chatham-Kent and Stone Road Alvar on Pelee Island in Essex, to mention a few. Working with private landowners assisting them in understanding the significance of habitat on their properties has also been part of Michelle's professional work. She was also chair of the City of London's Ecological Policy Advisory Committee in the late 1990s.
No stranger to the region, Michelle grew up on a 10-acre rural home base near Dorchester where she got early exposure to wildlife, wetlands and woodlands. Her conservation work has also taken her far afield to the tropical forests of northern Australia and to Canada's high Arctic tundra in the Northwest Territories. Learn more about what Michelle is up to at www.carolinian.org.
Eric Eberhardt
A recipient of the 2002 "Ethics in Action" Award, Eric Eberhardt is a very active enrivonmentalist. His energy efficient home has been featured in numerous publications such as Harrowsmith, the Toronto Star, and the Globe & Mail. He is a founding member of SPEEC 1987 (local environmental club, Nature Roots 1991 (Meadow Rue Garden), Perth County Greenworks 1999 (Home Energy Audits), and Organic Crop Improvement Association in Ontario. He has also served on the City of Stratford Energy & Environment Committee from 1992-2002, City of Stratford Roundtable on the Environment 1992 & 2004, and was appointed by the City of Stratford PUC as Commissioner.
Eric spends most of his time as co-owner of Gentle Rain since 1979 (with Marsha Eberhardt). He has been an organic Farmer since 1975, an Environmental educator in local elementary, high school and colleges, and a workshop leader at university of Guelph organic Agriculture conference.
Craig Merkley
Craig Merkley is a graduate of the University of Guelph and has worked at the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority for 20 years. His work experience is focused on agricultural issues and the rural environment. Craig specialized in project management coordinating multi agency research studies and demonstration projects aimed at providing farmers with practical solutions to managing nutrients on the farm. For the past 10 years, Craig has worked closely with a group of farmers in the Upper Avon River watershed implementing the recommendations of the 1992 Avon Valley Plan.