(TORONTO, June 7, 2010)—The Toyota Earth Day Scholarship Program has recognized Andrew Wong of Burlington, Ontario as the 2010 Toyota Earth Day Scholarship National Award Winner. Toyota Canada Inc. President Yoichi Tomihara and Earth Day Canada President Jed Goldberg presented Andrew with the award today at a ceremony in Toronto, Ontario.
Andrew, selected from a group of 20 regional scholarship winners who were chosen from a pool of hundreds of applicants across Canada, was recognized for his outstanding achievements in environmental community service, academics and extracurricular participation.
Andrew established the Greenhouse Horticultural Society at his school and mobilized his peers to revitalize his high school’s dilapidated greenhouse, transforming it into a hub for educational enrichment. As the President of the school’s Environment Team, Andrew also lead the development of his high school’s new recycling program, planned weekly eco-certification initiatives and hosted environmental debates.
“Andrew is a shining example of environmental commitment and action,” said Jed Goldberg, President of Earth Day Canada. “He has taken an active role in improving the state of the environment and will no doubt continue to be an inspirational leader for positive environmental change.”
Andrew is also the President of the Biology Club, school representative to the BurlingtonGreen Environmental Youth Advisory Committee and volunteers with the Royal Botanical Gardens Bay Area Restoration Council. In addition, he authors the environmental blog Million Green Lights, which couples environmental innovation with world issues.
“It is this type of leadership and passion, which Andrew has shown, which will be needed to tackle the environmental issues of today and help to build the more sustainable societies of tomorrow,” said Yoichi Tomihara, President of Toyota Canada Inc. “That’s why we’re so pleased to honour Andrew with the Toyota Earth Day Scholarship National Award, for demonstrating such exemplary academic and environmental excellence. I’m confident this passionate student leader will help show all Canadians how they can live Earth Day, Every Day.”
Andrew was presented with a Panasonic notebook computer in addition to the $5 000 award he received as a regional scholarship recipient.
The Toyota Earth Day Scholarship Program was established to reward and encourage environmental commitment and action among students. This entrance scholarship is presented to graduating high school students entering their first year of post-secondary education. Recognizing that environmental issues are increasingly being tackled through multidisciplinary approaches, winners are selected regardless of their intended program of study. Now in its eighth year, $600 000 have been awarded to 120 exceptional young Canadians.
About Earth Day Canada
Earth Day Canada (EDC), a national environmental charity founded in 1990, provides Canadians with the practical knowledge and tools they need to lessen their impact on the environment. In 2004 it was recognized as the top environmental education organization in North America, for its innovative year-round programs and educational resources, by the Washington-based North American Association for Environmental Education, the world's largest association of environmental educators. In 2008 it was chosen as Canada’s “Outstanding Non-profit Organization” by the Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication. EDC regularly partners with thousands of organizations in all parts of Canada. www.earthday.ca
About Toyota Canada
A commitment to environmental stewardship has been a part of Toyota’s operations in Canada for over 40 years, and can be found throughout the organization in manufacturing, sales and distribution, vehicle technologies and corporate social responsibility efforts. Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) is the exclusive Canadian distributor of Toyota, Lexus and Scion cars, SUVs and trucks, and Toyota industrial equipment. For more information on Toyota Canada Inc.—including media contacts, digital photography and product information—please visit www.media.toyota.ca.
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Digital photos:
Digital photos of the event will be available by request at scholarship@earthday.ca
Contact Jo Anne Tacorda at 416.599.1991 ext. 109 for details.
For interviews:
Keith Treffry, Director of Communications, Earth Day Canada—416.599.1991 ext. 107
Nicole Grant, Public Relations Consultant, Toyota Canada Inc.—416.438.6320 ext. 2725
Regional winners of the Toyota Earth Day Scholarship Program
Alissa Ali of Lyons Brook, Nova Scotia
Alissa Ali established the first Earth Week celebration at her school which has now become the cornerstone for the school’s environmental activities and revitalized the Environmental Club. She also maintains the Student’s Educating on Climate Change project through the International Climate Champion Program, which aims to create a network of high school students who volunteer their time to increase environmental awareness in their communities.
Jack Simpson of Fredericton, New Brunswick
Under Jack’s leadership, the Children’s International Summer Villages’ Eco-Group has become a strong advocate for the Bur Oak tree; spearheading a massive tree planting initiative to re-establish the bur oak throughout its entire historic range. Jack has represented the group at multiple international conferences and has co-authored an International Youth Accord on Biodiversity to be presented at the upcoming Conference of the Parties (COP 10) in Japan.
Elise Tessier of Berwick, Nova Scotia
Elise’s farmer-centered research, with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, has proven that the use of organic compost and compost teas give plants a continual source of food and that organic nitrogen produces healthier plants.
Leslie Bothwell of Guelph, Ontario
In 2008, Leslie was trained by Al Gore and David Suzuki to deliver “An Inconvenient Truth” and has gone on to educate thousands of people in the Guelph and Kitchener, Ontario regions about the effects of climate change. She also implemented the first functional recycling program at her high school in over 30 years, a program so successful that it is now being rolled-out across the local school board.
Amy Jiang of Oakville, Ontario
As one of the British Council’s International Climate Champions (ICCs), Amy has co-authored regional and international declarations to protect the Nilgiris, a mountain chain in Tamil Nadu. She also manages the finances for the ICCommit, a national eco-pledge program which encourages students to make week-long, environment-friendly commitments. At school,
Amy is the founder and chair of her school’s EcoCouncil, co-president of the Roots and Shoots Club and created a school garden.
Brandon Koebel of Hanover, Ontario
Brandon organized the Facing the Inconvenient Truth Environmental Symposium that brought over 300 attendees together, including community environmental groups, businesses, city officials and citizens, to discuss climate change. He also self-produced a documentary entitled “Bringing the Solution Home” which outlined 10 global-friendly environment tips.
Anika Roberts-Stahlbrand of Toronto, Ontario
Anika organizes local, sustainable food fairs at her high school and works with the Toronto Youth Food Policy Council where she applies her passion for local, sustainable food to re-connect people with nature. Under her leadership, her high school is now recognized as a certified a Gold Leaf EcoSchool by the Toronto District School Board.
Cassidy Dankochik of Gimli, Manitoba
Cassidy is the main organizer for a conference about Lake Winnipeg and its watershed, and is the founder of Youth for Lake Winnipeg, a group that aims to promote environmental sustainability throughout the watershed. He is the Envirothon senior team captain at his school and leads his school’s recycling program.
Keita Hill of Edmonton, Alberta
Keita works to promote and improve Edmonton’s public and human-powered transportation system through his work with the City of Edmonton’s Youth Council. He also placed fourth in the regional Sanofi-Aventis BioTech Challenge for his research into biological solar cells.
Audrey Lane Cockett of Calgary, Alberta
Audrey conducted a two-year science fair project about the non-native plants threatening a local neighborhood park’s grassland eco-system and contributed to the interpretive signage about plant species in local parks.
Walter Pang of Calgary, Alberta
Walter is the founder and program coordinator of Youth Earth Ambassadors, an environmental network that connects high school environmental clubs and community groups, and currently leads over 250 environmentally-driven youth in a myriad of interschool projects. He volunteers with Child and Youth Friendly Calgary, is a teen critic for the CBC and is an active committee member on the Mayor’s Youth Council.
Alex Chen of Richmond, British Columbia
Alex founded his high school’s Green Team and, as its first President, initiated several awareness initiatives that include shoreline clean-ups, a school garden and an electronic-waste competition. Alex is also the Student Council President and has volunteered in the Dominican Republic to provide humanitarian relief.
Michelle Lee of Vancouver, British Columbia
Michelle is the founder of the Solar Generation Club at her high school and was one of the main organizers of PowerFull Future, a renewable energy and technology fair that connected students to environmental sustainability. She also mentors elementary students on environmental issues through Earth Day Canada’s EcoMentors Program.
Matthew Warnock of Surrey, British Columbia
Matthew is the co-founder of H20-Canada, a non-profit organization that raises awareness about water and sustainability issues, and coordinates the Be the Change program that encourages student environmental action and supports student leadership teams in the launch of environmental projects.
Natasha Caminsky of Lachine, Québec
Natasha led a trip to the Dominican Republic where she and her team conducted community clean-ups and educated hundreds of citizens about environmental activities that could improve their community.
Julie D’Aoust of Hudson, Québec
Selected as an International Climate Champion by the British Council, Julie co-led the development of ICCommit, an eco-pledge program that has collected environmentally-friendly pledges from over 15 000 students. She was trained by Al Gore to give climate change presentations and was invited by her Member of Parliament to present at Parliament Hill.
Joanne Gagnon-Roy of Sept-Îles, Québec
Joanne implemented an environmental policy at her Cégep to install electric hand dryers and automatic faucets. She also created Without My Car Day to promote public transportation, and Coffee Cup, an event that sold reusable mugs and recycled over 10 700 paper cups.
Claire Gérin-Lajoie of Montréal, Québec
Claire led an initiative to install multi-material recycling stations at her school and directed a study to determine whether these new recycling stations improved the school’s recycling rate and promoted positive environmental behaviour among users.
Camille Pelletier-Vernooy of Gatineau, Québec
Camille initiated a composting pilot project at her high school and donated the collected compost to the local food bank’s community garden, diverting thousands of litres of organic waste from landfills. |
