Conservation Authority honours award winners

Board members Marc Charron and Jenny Thomas with General Manager Brian Tayler display award plaque

The North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority held a special banquet Thursday night to recognise the recipients of the 2006 Environmental Awards.

Full details contained in the media release below.

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Family, friends and past winners were in attendance at Churchill’s restaurant in North Bay yesterday evening as the North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority (NBMCA) recognised the recipients of the 2006 Dorothy Walford Memorial and Ward Smith Environmental Youth Awards. The family of the late Richard Thomas, the prior Reeve of Burk’s Falls, was presented the Dorothy Walford Memorial Award in recognition of Mr. Thomas’ tremendous contribution to local conservation efforts, while two students from Sundridge, Sydney Kidd and Hannah Campbell, were selected as the 2006 co-recipients of the Ward Smith Environmental Youth Award for their work on the impact of an abandoned landfill.

“The contributions Sydney Kidd, Hannah Campbell and the late Richard Thomas have made to the health of our local environment gives us all pause for thanks, and hopefully the inspiration to do something significant for the environment today and every day,” said Brian Taylor, General Manager of the NBMCA.

Richard Thomas was known as a farmer, a writer, radio broadcaster, environmentalist, activist and politician; above all he was known as a caring citizen with deep roots in the Parry Sound district. For more than 40 years he used all those skills to further an understanding of how we can achieve a sustainable future. Richard was an active politician starting a local chapter of the Green Party in the Parry Sound Riding in 1990, and was active with this party until 2001. Before his untimely passing in early 2006, he was the Reeve of Armour Township. His wife, Jenny Thomas accepted the award on the family’s behalf.

The two co-winners of the Ward Smith award, Sydney Kidd and Hannah Campbell, have focused their Science Fair Project for the last two years on the abandoned landfill site in the Village of Sundridge . The purpose of their study is to determine if the creek is being contaminated due to the close proximity of the landfill site and if vegetative reproduction is being adversely affected. Their purpose for doing the project was to determine how much the aftermath is affecting their community.

The NBMCA’s awards are an annual event. Residents in the region were invited to nominate individuals or organizations who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to environmental and/or conservation causes within their local community.

The North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority (NBMCA) was founded in 1972 by the Province of Ontario and the NBMCA’s 10 member municipalities. A non-profit organization, the NBMCA works closely with the public to ensure the environmental health of the region’s watershed. The NBMCA is one of 36 Conservation Authorities who are members of Conservation Ontario.

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Photo provided