KAMLOOPS – Mary Ellen Grant, who graduated from TRU’s Bachelor of Science degree program in 1999 and began work as manager of the Kamloops Wildlife Park’s (KWP) education and volunteer centre the same year, has been nominated for a Canadian Environment Award (CEA).
The CEA, Canada’s only national, bilingual, environmental awards program, was established by Canadian Geographic in partnership with the government of Canada in 2002. It features three awards categories: community, lifetime achievement, and green team challenge. Community awards categories include climate change, conservation, environmental health, restoration and rehabilitation, sustainable living, and environmental learning, the category in which Grant is a medal contender.
“To just be nominated to something as significantly national as this award has made me try to be an even better environmental educator, and has reinforced the need to continually improve,’ she said.
“I’m really community oriented, and this community has helped me achieve national recognition. They say it takes a whole village to raise a child. Well, it also takes the collective community to create an adult, and this community has helped me to become an achiever.”
Since 1999, Grant has instituted a number of successful environmental education programs at KWP, including its very vital docent program, which has seen a volunteer corps of university students and community members contribute to visitors’ understanding of wildlife and habitat issues.
Grant will join David Suzuki, who is being recognized with a Citation for Lifetime Achievement by the CEA, at an awards gala to be held in Toronto June 6th. The KWP docent program will also be highlighted in a special supplement to be distributed in Canadian Geographic’s May/June issue.
For more information, please contact Mary Ellen Grant at 573-3242 ext 226 or 377-3277. Information, about the CEA can be found at:
