High school students across Canada receive environmental award

August 16, 2011 – ECO Canada awarded four outstanding high school students from across Canada with $2,500 for their first-year tuition in an environmental program at any Canadian post-secondary institution. The recipients of the ECO Canada Scholarship were:
 

Andrew Wong 2011 Edit Petrovic Memorial Award – Burlington, Ontario	Alec Forest 2011 ECO Canada Scholarship Calgary, Alberta	Caitlin Stockwell 2011 ECO Canada Scholarship Victoria, British Columbia	Stephanie Knill 2011 ECO Canada Scholarship North Vancouver, British Columbia

“The environmental sector offers a wide array of exciting career opportunities for today’s youth,” says April Schaly, Project Manager with ECO Canada. “The scholarship program is intended to help facilitate a student’s transition into environmental post-secondary studies, and ideally, inspire students to pursue a career in the environment.”

Scholarships are awarded to individuals who have shown leadership in the areas of environmental protection, the conservation and preservation of natural resources, or environmental sustainability.

This year’s scholarship recipients were actively involved in numerous environmental initiatives, including creating environmental youth networks, organizing events to raise awareness of environmental issues, and volunteering to restore natural habitats.
The top candidate each year is also awarded the Edit Petrovic Memorial Scholarship. This year, Wong was selected as the recipient of the award and received an additional $2,500.
Wong spearheaded a three year restoration project to restore an abandoned greenhouse at his local high school. The students now use the greenhouse to learn about horticulture and to raise money for environmental initiatives. Wong has also been actively involved with the BurlingtonGreen Youth Network—a unique platform for students to share environmental ideas.

“Looking back at my environmental efforts I realize they interweave education with action,” says Wong, who will be studying environmental and urban planning at the University of Waterloo this fall.

“With a growing environment industry and an increasing demand for highly skilled labour, it’s great to see ambitious and inspiring students pursue higher education in the environmental field,” says Schaly.

Funding for the scholarships comes from ECO Canada and friends and family of Edit Petrovic. Scholarship applications are reviewed by environmental industry leaders looking to make positive change for youth.

For more information on the ECO Canada Scholarship Program, visit www.eco.ca/scholarship.