Nova Scotians Win Earth Day Scholarships
A Nova Scotian student has received a national environmental achievement award in Toronto today, April 21.
Joanna McNeil of St. Peter's, Richmond Co., was awarded the Outstanding Environmental Achievement Award as well as a Toyota Earth Day Scholarship worth $5,000 from Toyota Canada. She was selected from 15 regional scholarship winners across Canada
The other scholarship awarded in the Atlantic region was also awarded to a Nova Scotian student, Marena Brinkhurst of Chezzetcook, Halifax Co. This is the second time in the four-year history of the environmental scholarship program that both atlantic regional awards were granted to Nova Scotians. It is also the second time the national achievement prize has been won by a student from the province.
The awards are presented to students who have distinguished themselves through environmental community service, extracurricular and volunteer activities, and academic excellence.
Ms. McNeil participated in a research project to determine the viability of using bioremediation techniques to clean up the toxic sludge of the Sydney tar ponds. Bioremediation involves the use of micro-organisms to break down chemical toxins with minimal effect on the environment. She presented her successful research during the Sanofi-Aventis Biotech Challenge and was awarded first place in the province and fourth place nationally.
Her environmental achievements also include the making of an anti-littering video which was used in a television ad campaign created by the provincial Resource Recovery Fund Board.
Her science projects have also included a study on the effects of road salts on vegetation, as well as additives that could reduce evaporation of water reserves in warm climates.
Marena Brinkhurst founded the Halifax Grammar School Environmental Group - The Green Gryphons. As the group's leader, she evaluated recycling efforts at the school to assist the administration in future planning. She volunteered with the Ecology Action Centre's Freshwater Brook project, and worked with the Eastern Shore Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre.
Ms. Brinkhurst has been student leader for the local Free the Children chapter, an organizer of the Youth Global Awareness Conference, and a member of Amnesty International, the Model United Nations, and the National Youth Round Table on the Environment -- a youth advisory body to Environment Canada.
"As Nova Scotians, we can be proud of these talented young students," said Carolyn Bolivar-Getson, Minister of Environment and Labour. "This kind of environmental concern by our youth today will help to preserve our natural world for tomorrow."
The Toyota Earth Day Scholarship is offered to students entering their first year of post-secondary studies in the discipline of their choice. Earth Day is Saturday, April 22.
Members of the media interested in interviewing the Nova Scotia scholarship winners can contact the Department of Environment and Labour.
For information about the environment and natural areas in Nova Scotia visit the Department of Environment and Labour website at www.gov.ns.ca/enla .