ECO Canada and Newalta are pleased to announce the four winners of the 2012 Newalta Aboriginal Environmental Scholarship:
These four exceptional students have demonstrated environmental leadership in their communities through a variety of activities and commitments. Read the stories behind their passion and interest in environmental issues:
JANELLE PEWAPSCONIAS
As a child, Janelle spent many hours of her childhood exploring the natural environment around her, and was given the Cree name Nohtawinaw Askiy, meaning Mother Earth. As she explains, “Upon reflection of my young life I realize more and more that my youth fostered Wahkewtewin (an innate relationship) to the Earth.”
Janelle’s commitment to this relationship is best displayed through her community involvement. She is currently the chairperson of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Environmental Youth Council (FSIN EYC). Through her work with the council, she concentrates on energy planning and management, conservation awareness, sustainable development, and environmental protection.
“I took many years to explore my career options and find something that would make me happy, not realizing my heart was in land all along,” says Janelle.
In taking the steps to pursue a career that protects the environment, Janelle is enrolled in the Indigenous Lands and Resource Management (IPRM) Program at the University of Saskatchewan, under the College of Agriculture and Bioresources. She will begin her studies this September. After she completes the IPRM program in April 2013, she will pursue the Renewable Resources Management (RRM) degree and focus on economics and policy.
“I have always been inspired to protect and conserve the environment, [so] why not make a career doing something I love?” she explains. Janelle believes this scholarship will enable her to make the changes she wants to see in her community and bring her another step closer to making a difference in the environment.
KENDALL WHITE
Growing up on Bear Island in Lake Temagami, Ontario has had a very profound effect on how Kendall White has determined to live her life and on the career she has decided to pursue.
Kendall began taking action on environmental issues in 2010 when she joined the Green Team at her high school. After attending an environmental symposium with the team, Kendall discovered an opportunity to study global warming in the Arctic. Kendall was one of 70 delegates accepted for the two-week Students on Ice Arctic expedition, attending climate-related workshops and studying glaciers while travelling from Iceland to Greenland to eastern Canada.
“I love working closer to home because it allows me to have a more frequent impact, for example teaching youth at schools about how to be green,” says Kendall.
Kendall’s impact has reached far beyond her school, however. She was recently contacted by the Jane Goodall Society to work one-on-one with Goodall and to discuss leadership issues with other students. This experience inspired Kendall to hold her own workshop engaging youth in global warming issues at a Roots & Shoots Conference.
This September, Kendall will be pursuing an Environmental Technology program at Sir Sandford Fleming College. After completing this program, she plans to study Agricultural Sustainability or Marine Biology. “One day I hope to start an organization to bring awareness to marine issues in fresh water lakes regarding the animals living in them,” she explains. In addition to this, Kendall hopes to use the knowledge from her studies to implement sustainable food and fresh water systems on reserves or in rural areas throughout the world.
PADEN LENNIE
After hearing the harrowing tale of how his Daduck (grandfather) survived a night during a blizzard, Paden Lennie learned a powerful lesson: if you respect nature, nature will respect you. Growing up in the northern community of Inuvik, Paden’s interest in the environment grew from the time he spent travelling with his father and grandfather and how to live off the land in his Aboriginal community.
Paden’s employment opportunities have also motivated him to learn more about his natural surroundings. As a park ranger at Herschel Island-Qikiqtaruk Territorial Park in the Yukon, Paden assisted the rangers with park maintenance and conducting animal observations and research. He also assisted the isolated community of Sachs Harbour with its annual muskox harvest. “I learned how the community is dependent on the muskox and how they relate to the land, which gave me a lot of respect for the people living there and their way of life,” says Paden.
While living in Montreal and enrolled in a Social Science program at Lasalle College, Paden was invited to make a presentation to a McGill University geography class regarding the effects of global warming on food security, and the related challenges faced by northern communities dependent on the land.
Paden begins his first year in the Natural Resource Compliance Program at Lethbridge Community College in September. “I’ve never been more excited for school in my life,” he says of the amount of field work offered in his program, “all of my [previous] jobs have been perfect first-hand experience for the field I want to get into. Receiving this scholarship has motivated me even more and pushed me harder to toward my goals.”
KELSEY PELTON
Kelsey Pelton accepted a job with the Haida Gwaii Youth Stewardship Program hoping to meet new people, not realizing the program would also help her discover her love for environmental conservation. In her work with the program, Kelsey and her new friends restored hiking trails, caged trees, repaired deer exclosures, and learned valuable team building skills.
Growing up in Haida Gwaii, Kelsey has always been surrounded by nature, and her family is dedicated to outdoor activities, planning annual camping, hiking, boating and fishing trips across the islands. However, it wasn’t until the job with Haida Gwaii Youth Stewardship, that Kelsey realized what she was capable of.
Haida culture is very important to Kelsey, and she takes Haida language classes, hoping to use these skills to spread awareness of her culture to the younger generations. Kelsey is also a part of the Hlgaagilda Dance Group in Haida Gwaii, which practices ancient songs and dances, and performs them at potlatches. “What I like most about being a part of these programs is it brings a strong sense of culture to the younger generation,” says Kelsey.
Kelsey will pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree in Natural Resource Management at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George this September. She wants to gain more knowledge about natural resources and what her community is doing to preserve these resources.
She hopes her knowledge and commitment will allow her to work in Haida Gwaii, either in tourism or in the forestry and parks department.
Thank you to Newalta, proud sponsor of the
ECO 2012 Newalta Aboriginal Scholarship.