Canadian Environment Awards Announces Annual Short List of Finalists

    TORONTO, May 15 /CNW/ - The Canadian Environment Awards today announced
the short list of finalists who will be honoured during its annual celebration
of environmental achievement. Inspired by the community-action objectives of
Canadian Environment Week, which takes place this year from June 3 to 9, the
Canadian Environment Awards program is a national, bilingual celebration that
recognizes four levels of environmental excellence: Community Awards, Ideas
for Life Award, Citation of Lifetime Achievement and The Green Team Challenge.
    The Community Awards, the flagship program of the Canadian Environment
Awards, celebrates 18 individuals and grassroots groups chosen by a panel of
environmental luminaries from nominations submitted by the Canadian public.
"This year's finalists demonstrate incredible ingenuity and enthusiasm, and I
congratulate them all," says Clive Mather, President and CEO of Shell Canada,
the lead corporate sponsor of the Canadian Environment Awards. "Striving to
find sustainable solutions to today's tough environmental challenges demands
vision and hard work. These extraordinary Canadians are an inspiration to us
all."
    Profiles of the 18 finalists (see reverse), representing six categories
of environmental achievement - Climate Change, Conservation, Environmental
Health, Environmental Learning, Restoration & Rehabilitation and Sustainable
Living - have been published in English and French magazines that will be
distributed with Canadian Geographic (www.canadiangeographic.ca/cea),
Maclean's and L'actualité.
    In 2007, the Canadian Environment Awards will also present TOHU, la Cité
des arts du cirque, with the Ideas for Life Award, created to recognize
environmental action demonstrated through the arts, entertainment and design.
Employing the same ingenuity that has made Quebec the world leader in circus
arts, TOHU is a sustainable "green" home for circus arts in Canada, an
environmental learning centre and the anchor project for the revitalization of
Montréal's Saint-Michel neighbourhood.
    The program's top honour, the Citation of Lifetime Achievement, will be
presented to biologist and film-maker Jean Lemire, who has dedicated the past
20 years to forging a new model for environmental activism. Fast becoming one
of Canada's most influential environmental ambassadors, Lemire mixes adventure
with ecology and brings these stories to life in documentary films. His
historic expeditions to the Arctic and the Antarctic have enlightened
audiences around the world about the threats these ecosystems face from
climate change.
    Jean Lemire will deliver the keynote address at the annual Awards Gala on
Monday, June 4, at the Montréal Science Centre. On that night, the Gold and
Silver Community Awards winners will be recognized with $5,000 and $2,500
prizes to donate to the environmental cause of their choice. The Junior and
Senior winners of The Green Team Challenge, the youth initiative, will also be
announced.
    The Canadian Environment Awards 2007 is a partnership between the
Government of Canada and Canadian Geographic Enterprises, which manages the
program and publishes the annual Canadian Environment Awards magazines. The
Canadian Environment Awards program is also supported by 14 Canadian
corporations, of which Shell Canada is the lead corporate sponsor. For
complete details about the Canadian Environment Awards 2007 or to purchase
tickets to the Awards Gala, visit www.canadiangeographic.ca/cea

    FINALISTS FOR THE CANADIAN ENVIRONMENT AWARDS 2007

    CITATION OF LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
    Jean Lemire; biologist, adventurer and film director and producer;
    Montréal, Quebec

    IDEAS FOR LIFE AWARD
    TOHU, la Cité des arts du cirque; sustainable centre for circus arts and
    environmental learning centre; Montréal, Quebec

    COMMUNITY AWARDS FINALISTS

    CLIMATE CHANGE
    Clean Air Foundation, Car Heaven; Toronto, Ontario
    Conseil régional de l'environnement de l'Estrie, sustainable
    transportation program; Sherbrooke, Quebec
    Stuart Hickox, Project Porchlight; Ottawa, Ontario

    CONSERVATION
    Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society/Yukon Chapter, Three Rivers
    Journey; Whitehorse, Yukon
    Mike James and Kathleen Martin, Nova Scotia Leatherback Turtle Working
    Group; Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Native Orchid Conservation Inc., protectors of mini-ecosystems and their
    plant communities; Winnipeg, Manitoba

    ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
    Lac La Biche Watershed Steering Committee, community-based water-quality
    champions; Lakeland County, Alberta
    Lake Winnipeg Research Consortium Inc., multi-stakeholder research and
    education group; Gimli, Manitoba
    Nunavik Research Centre, Inuit-managed environmental-health facility;
    Kuujjuaq, Quebec

    ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING
    Humber Arm Environmental Association, Trading Books for Boats; Corner
    Brook, Newfoundland
    Lucie Sauvé, Canada Research Chair in Environmental Education; Montréal,
    Quebec
    Jim Taylor, founder of the E-Team; Mission, British Columbia

    RESTORATION & REHABILITATION
    Junction Creek Stewardship Committee, community creek restoration group;
    Sudbury, Ontario
    Nile Creek Enhancement Society, salmon-habitat restoration project;
    Bowser, British Columbia
    Tree Canada, foundation dedicated to planting trees throughout Canada;
    Ottawa, Ontario

    SUSTAINABLE LIVING
    Community Environment Alliance of Peel, Share-IT: Computers for
    Community; Brampton, Ontario
    Eco-quartier Jeanne-Mance/Mile End, Tourne-Sol Community Composting
    Centre; Montréal, Quebec
    George McCubbin, advocate for eco-efficiencies in multi-unit residences;
    Lindsay, Ontario

    For complete details on the Canadian Environment Awards 2007, visit
www.canadiangeographic.ca/cea

For further information: Diane Chaperon-Lor, Public Relations Manager,
Canadian Environment Awards, Telephone: (416) 653-0849, Cellphone: (416)
788-8271, E-mail: chaperonlor@canadiangeographic.ca