EnMasse

[Hephaestion]

Just received by e-mail:



June 14, 2006

NEWS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Winnipeg The Manitoba Eco-Network is very pleased to announce the recipients of our 2006 Environmental Awards. The Awards were established in 1990 to recognize "significant contributions to the awareness and protection of Manitobaís environment". They are community awards, which celebrate the work of our peers in the great diversity and challenges of environmental work.

From amongst nominations gathered over the past 2 months, the Awards Committee has selected recipients in 3 categories.

Individual: The recipient this year is Ruth Pryzner. Ruth raises sheep, chickens and turkeys on her organic family farm in the southwest part of Manitoba, near the community of Rivers. She is also a municipal councillor in the RM of Daly and is active with a number of community groups. She brings a high level of dedication to the responsibilities of her work as a municipal councillor and citizen, monitoring all of the developments in the RM and working hard to ensure that she has the information required to make a sound decision when it comes to the vote. Daly is an agricultural RM and has its share of hog barns and feed lots, developments that have major implications for the water quality in the area. Ruth does prodigious amounts of research, and patiently brings all the information to the council table, where unfortunately, her efforts are not always acknowledged. She has also been a leader and role model for other supporters of sustainable agriculture at the level of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities.

She attends numerous community meetings to share information with other citizens, and does not hesitate to bring her concerns to the attention of other levels of government in clear and well-researched briefs and presentations.



Group: The Brandon and Area Environmental Council will take home the group award this year. BAEC has only been in existence for just over 2 years, but they consist of a number of individuals who have been working together on environmental issues for decades. Their most recent endeavour has been to convince Brandon City council to pass a pesticide by-law. This is the first by-law in Manitoba that deals with the cosmetic use of pesticides.

Many current members of BAEC (Bill Paton, Al Rogosin, Jan Chaboyer and Adam Schneider) were instrumental in organizing the now-defunct Westman Community Action Coalition, which worked on issues around Maple Leaf Hog Slaughterhouse in Brandon. A public citizens inquiry in the fall of 1999 organized by the Westman Community Action Coalition led to the founding of Hog Watch Manitoba.



Special: This year in the "Special" category (recognizing citizens from all walks of life who have made an environmental difference), the award is to Richard Gamble, and the Lake Winnipeg Foundation. Rick is the Mayor of the Village of Dunnottar on the shores of Lake Winnipeg, and has led the council there in a number of important environmental initiatives aimed at protecting the waters of Lake Winnipeg, waste reduction and composting, and helping to create the new Interlake Conservation District. Rick is a Founder of the Lake Winnipeg Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing a stable funding source for the Lake Winnipeg Research Consortium.

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{Ruth Pryzner, Bill Paton, Al Rogosin, and Jan Chaboyer are all friends of mine.)
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"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin

[baba yaga]

it's always good to hear of ordinary people's extraordinary efforts being acknowledged. actually, i'm not fond of that phrase because 'ordinary people' is such a catch phrase & means nothing other than that power-holders are not 'ordinary'. nonetheless - good on 'em!

Heph - sidescroll is goin on - i think it's caused by the footer from your email - funny looking line of squares are visible in the post.
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"If sunbeams were weapons of war, we would have had solar energy centuries ago": Sir George Porter, quoted in The Observer, 26 August 1973