Three Calgary Mayors Kick Off Mayor’s Environment Expo
Calgary Mayors from the past 25 years helped kick off the 2014 Mayor’s Environment Expo Tuesday evening. Mayors Naheed Nenshi, Dave Bronconnier and Al Duerr welcomed students, parents and teachers to the 25th Annual Mayor’s Environment Expo, Calgary’s premier event in celebration of National Environment Week.
This year’s theme The Difference a Generation Makes underlines the importance of providing environmental education to young Calgarians.
As the originator of the event 25 years ago, Mayor Al Duerr officially opened the Expo and welcomed students, parents and teachers to the event. “I am proud of what we started 25 years ago. Those first students who attended the Expo in 1989 are now decision makers, business owners and tax payers,” says Duerr. “They grew up learning how to protect the environment in their everyday lives and as adults are able to teach those behaviours to their own children.”
Mayor Bronconnier presented the Jack Leslie Youth Environment Grants to recipient schools, St. Michael School and Sir Winston Churchill High School. Student and teacher representatives from each school were presented with a commemorative plaque and a $1000 project grant. St Michael School’s project included creating a teaching garden and composting area, and Sir Winston Churchill High School will create an Aquaponics tank project.
The winners of the Mayor’s Environment Youth Photography Contest were also announced. The photography contest encourages youth to capture an environmental theme under specific categories. The overall winner of this year’s Youth Photography Contest is Layne McCarthy of Crescent Heights High School. Layne received first place with his photo of the Peace Bridge taken during the 2013 flood in the “A River Runs Through It” category.
Prior to the official opening, Mayor Nenshi spent time with several youth Eco-Leaders and interacted with their projects, which included topics like water conservation, waste reduction and green commuting. Twenty Calgary schools participated in The City’s six-month Eco-Leaders program.
“When I look at the environmental leadership of Calgarians of all ages, I am truly inspired,” said Mayor Nenshi. “These students are taking action in their schools, homes and communities. They are using their own hearts, hands and minds to make their communities better every day.”
Over its history, the Expo has educated 50,000 participants through interactive exhibits, displays and workshops. The Expo mandate is to develop well-educated environmental stewards that practice and promote environmental sustainability beyond the classroom.
“Each of you has the power to make change,” said Mayor Nenshi to Expo award winners and guests. “I encourage all of you to commit to take one more action each day to make Calgary a better place to live. It can be as simple as bringing litterless lunches to school or planting a garden in your backyard.”
This year, The Expo will be open to the public on Saturday, June 7 with performances and workshops. To register for the free Community Day event, visit http://www.calgary.ca/UEP/ESM/Pages/Mayors-Environment-Expo/MEE-Community-Day.aspx
-30-
Please see the attached backgrounder for more details.
