City of Kawartha Lakes presents Environmental Hero and Youth Environmental Hero Awards

Earlier this year, the City asked for nominations of individuals or groups that had addressed a local environmental issue in 2016 and made an outstanding environmental contribution in Kawartha Lakes. We sought the names and stories of those who had acted successfully to influence change for the benefit of the environment, without any expectation of reward.

On Tuesday, Mayor Andy Letham and Councillors formally recognized the Environmental Hero and Youth Environmental Hero of 2016.

"Our environmental heroes have taken it upon themselves to improve Kawartha Lakes through their commitment to the environment. Their projects and initiatives help provide an exceptional quality of life and a healthy environment for our families, our friends and all City residents," says Mayor Letham. "Thank you for your dedication to our planet and our community."

Environmental Hero: Gay Fletcher

The Kawartha Lakes Environmental Hero award was presented to Gay Fletcher of Take Back the Beach for her efforts to clean up the goose droppings in Garnet Graham Park. The efforts of Gay and her team have not only made the park more enjoyable and usable, they have also reduced the number of annual e-coli count warnings issued by the Health Unit.

Youth Environmental Hero: Bobcaygeon Public School's Eco Club leaders

Leaders of Bobcaygeon Public School's Eco Club, Chloe Williams, MacKenzie Ressor, Maya Piaz, and Zephyr Ball were named the recipients of this year's Youth Environmental Hero Award for their work with bird nesting boxes, monitoring the school's recycling, and public education efforts.

Councillor Kathleen Seymour-Fagan accepted the award on behalf of the students. A presentation will be made at Bobcaygeon Public School on a later date.

Mayor Andy Letham presents Gay Fletcher and members of the Take Back the Beach team with the 2017 Environmental Hero Award. They are joined by Pat Warren, chair of the Environmental Advisory Committee, and Councillor Gord Miller.

Councillor Kathleen Seymour-Fagan accepts the Youth Environmental Hero Award on behalf of the leaders of the Bobcaygeon Public School Eco Club. The award was presented by Mayor Andy Letham, Councillor Gord Miller and Pat Warren, chair of the Environmental Advisory Committee.

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For more information, please contact:

Jamie Steel
Communications, Advertising, Marketing Officer
705-324-9411 extension 1293
jsteel@city.kawarthalakes.on.ca