A few of Jasper’s environmentally conscious businesses, organizations and people were recognized June 17, when they were named the winners of the 2014 Environmental Stewardship Awards.
The annual awards are held each year during Environment Week to highlight the work the community is doing in energy conservation, waste reduction, water efficiency, environmental awareness and green design.
This year’s winners are the Jasper Fitness and Aquatic Centre, Eva Charlebois, Robinson’s Foods, Freewheel Cycle and the Jasper Trail Alliance.
The fitness and aquatic centre was recognized for the facility’s choice to use induction lighting—a type of energy efficient lighting that extends lamp life, improves efficiency levels and reduces costs, while maintaining a high quality of light—when replacing the lights above the pool deck.
The induction lights that were installed have a 10-year warranty, while the old bulbs were changed every two years.
For its choice to be more sustainable, the fitness and aquatic centre was awarded the Energy Efficiency Award.
Eva Charlebois was nominated for an Environmental Stewardship Award by one of her hiking partners. Her friend noted that Charlebois is always picking up litter and collecting recyclable bottles while out on the trails. She has even gone so far as to return a forgotten bike to its owner. For her endless efforts to keep the park clean, Charlebois was recognized with the Environmental Awareness Award.
Robinson’s Foods brought Jasper one step closer to being a Light Efficient Community (LEC) by installing new exterior lights, with fixtures that direct the light downward.
LEC lighting minimizes energy waste, glare and light pollution, and it fits in with the commitments the town made when the park was designated a Dark Sky Preserve.
For this choice, Robinson’s was awarded the Green Design Award.
For 10 years Freewheel Cycle has sponsored and organized the Bike Town Program as part of Environment Week. The goal is to get people out of their cars and onto their bikes, and to get kids thinking about the value of a healthy, sustainable lifestyle by running an essay writing contest—with a brand new townie as the prize.
For its long-time support of Environment Week and its efforts to promote green transportation, Freewheel was awarded the Energy Conservation Award.
The final award for 2014 went to the Jasper Trail Alliance—a large group of volunteers who work to improve the park’s trails. Last year alone, 308 volunteers donated 800 volunteer hours to clearing and building trails.
The alliance is a sub-committee of the Friends of Jasper National Park and has representation from Parks Canada, the Friends, and the Jasper Park Cycling Association.
For the countless backbreaking volunteer hours they’ve put in, the alliance members were recognized with the Environmental Awareness Award.
The winners of the Environmental Stewardship Awards were announced at the regularly scheduled meeting of council, June 17. The recipients, who were nominated by the community, were chosen by the Jasper Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee (ESAC).
Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
