Unceded Algonquin Territory, Ottawa, ON – November 1, 2022 – Every year, Nature Canada recognizes exemplary organizations and individuals who work tirelessly to protect Canada’s nature and wildlife. This year, we are beyond proud to give out our Charles Labatiuk Scholarship Award, Conservation Partner Award, Charles Labatiuk Volunteer Award, and Volunteer of the Year Award to the people who have contributed greatly to our shared goals of nature conservation and restoration. The winners are as follows:

Charles Labatiuk Scholarship Award

• Kianna Bear-Hetherington

Conservation Partner Award

• Bird Friendly London

Charles Labatiuk Volunteer Award 

• Amber French

Volunteer of the Year Award

• Lynda Goodridge

KIANNA BEAR-HETHERINGTON

This proud Wolastoqey woman from the beautiful community of Sitansisk located in Fredericton, New Brunswick grew up with a special relationship with the land and all living things in it. A deep spiritual connection to nature and a burning desire to help Indigenous communities thrive drove her to complete a Bachelor of Science in Environmental and Natural Resources with a major in Water Resource Management at the University of New Brunswick (UNB). She has recently applied to the University of Carleton in Ottawa to pursue a Master of Public Policy with a Concentration in Indigenous Policy in hopes of restoring connections to ancestral lands in meaningful ways through impactful legislation and policy changes. In all areas of her life, she is a fierce advocate for the advancement of Indigenous rights by returning to our sacred relationship with our Mother Earth. 

Learn more about Kianna here.

BIRD FRIENDLY LONDON

As Nature Canada’s first Nature Network partner to receive Bird Friendly Status, we’re extremely grateful for Bird Friendly London’s incredible enthusiasm and collaboration. Alongside the research work led by Brendon Samuels on bird-window strikes and mitigation efforts, Bird Friendly London has done substantial work on a variety of initiatives including the recent Lights Out campaigns, window retrofit workshops and City Bird Poll fundraiser. We are thankful we can count on them and their commitment to help educate, engage, fundraise, organize and coordinate with communities and local groups on what it means to be a Bird Friendly City.

Keep up with the Bird Friendly London team here.

AMBER FRENCH

Nature Canada is proud to award Amber French with this award in appreciation of her incredible enthusiasm in collaboration with us and her tireless work to protect nature. Especially her work with The Owl Foundation both as a volunteer and a summer student. We’re incredibly appreciative of Amber and her love for the earth and animals. We wish her nothing but the best with her journey at University of Guelph to become a Zoologist and hopefully we’ll cross paths again soon.

LYNDA GOODRIDGE

Lynda has done incredible work as former president of Bert Miller Nature Club in Fort Erie to protect and defend a variety of important bird species and boreal forest habitat from development pressure within Fort Erie. The work she’s done is vital and has  greatly inspired us as well as everyone in her team. We also deeply appreciate her work as Chair of the Fort Erie Bird Friendly City Team. By continuously protecting birds, she’s also protecting the health and well-being of her community.

To learn more about awards and scholarships, click here.

Nature Canada is Canada’s voice for nature. For 80 years, Nature Canada has helped protect over 110 million acres of parks and wildlife areas in Canada and countless species. Today, Nature Canada represents a network of over 130,000 members and supporters and more than 1,000 nature organizations.

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For more information contact: 

Scott Mullenix 

media@naturecanada.ca