The 2023
Rotary Environmental Award Winners
The Rotary Environmentalist Innovators Fund announced the first recipients of the 2023 Rotary Environmental Innovators Award at an event hosted by Camp Kawartha.
Three environmental innovators were awarded $3,000 each, and two were awarded $300 each towards initiatives addressing the local region’s environmental issues.
$3000 Award Winners
The Monarch Ultra raises awareness about the decline of monarch populations through its long-distance running events, social media channels, the media, and partnerships with schools, non-profits, and municipalities. This year, James’s team is planning Peterborough’s first-ever Monarch Butterfly Festival and Race to bolster monarch butterfly conservation efforts. The organization is also planning festivals and races in the USA and Mexico.
A collaborative community initiative, the BCWA is dedicated to conserving and enhancing the local watershed. The Alliance is working with community stakeholders and government to monitor ecological systems in the Baxter Creek watershed, educate the broader community, and implement innovative conservation initiatives to protect the natural heritage through landowner stewardship plans and conservation agreements.
Dylan has created a drone that broadcasts high-value tree and tallgrass seed with precision over large areas to help restore essential ecosystems. The drone operates autonomously with limited operator intervention and can be constructed with tools commonly available in school or library makerspaces. The intention is to release the project as an open-source design – a relatively new concept in the environmental sector.
$300 Award Winners
As a sustainable clothing brand, Ava&Ziva strives to reduce the environmental impact of the clothing industry by using deadstock fabric for its high-quality, small-batch garments.
Zachary McCue,
REPWR
REPWR designs and builds renewable energy systems for the intermodal shipping network, which provide clean power for the shipping industry and lower greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact.