Last night at Environment Canada’s Biosphère in Montreal, ten young Canadians from New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and the Yukon were awarded Cambio Merit Scholarships for “Youth Excellence in Climate Change” in recognition of their projects and best practices in this area. Cambio means change in Spanish.
Cambio Award Winners
This is the first time that Environment Canada has awarded the Cambio Scholarships to pay tribute to the creativity and best practices of young Canadians between the ages of 18 and 25 in the area of climate change. The winners each received a $500 merit scholarship and an invitation to participate in the International Youth Summit from November 24 to 28, one of the parallel events to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change that is taking place in Montreal from November 28 to December 9..
Kristina Inrig of Russell was also awarded an internship at Environment Canada in conjunction with the One-Tonne Challenge, a Government of Canada initiative aimed at decreasing greenhouse gases across the country by proposing simple, effective ways that Canadians can do their share.
The Cambio Scholarship Winners are:
New Brunswick
Raphael Shay of Fredericton for the Youth Environmental Symposium (YES)
Quebec
Louise Hénault Éthier of Montreal for the Compost Concordia initiative
Ontario
Kristina Inrig of Russell for the Environmental Action at Rideau Park United Church
Brian Kolenda of Toronto for the Energy Efficiency at Trinity College residences project
Jocelyn Land-Murphy of Ottawa for the Otesha project
Jennifer McDowell of Guelph for the Bullring Café Wind Project
Matthew Soltys of Guelph for the "Healing the Earth" Radio Show
British Columbia
Brian Suen of Vancouver for the Biodiesel at UBC project
Alysia Garmulewicz of Victoria for the Canadian Youth Conference on Climate Change (YC3)
Yukon
Jessica Thiessen of Whitehorse for the Arctic Youth Network
In order to be eligible for a Cambio Scholarship, participants were required to submit projects related to climate change in one of five categories (communication, education, action, innovation or expression using art or technology). Each project was evaluated by a jury of environmental specialists and professionals according to the following criteria: the reach of the project, the engagement of the participants, the results and benefits, the project’s sustainability over time and the partnerships that it created.
About 100 young people from acrossCanada and around the world are participating in the International Youth Summit, where the “Beyond Kyoto—It’s Us!” forum is being held. At the conclusion of the summit, a unique opportunity to exchange information and learn from the experiences of others, the youth delegates will have an opportunity to deliver the Youth Declaration and attend the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, where a wide range of viewpoints and solutions will be presented in an effort to meet the worldwide challenge of climate change.
