Sustainable Living Silver Award:
Community Environment Alliance of Peel,
Share-IT: Computers for Community;
Brampton, Ontario

Montreal, June 4 /CNW/ - The Canadian Environment Awards tonight hosted a gala evening at the Montréal Science Centre to recognize the 2007 winners of its annual celebration of environmental achievement. One of Canadian Environment Week's major events, the Canadian Environment Awards celebrates the commitment of Canadians who are helping to protect, preserve and restore the country's environment. The evening was hosted by Charles Tisseyre, host of Radio-Canada's "Découverte." Representatives from local, provincial and federal governments were on hand to congratulate the winners.

The Community Awards is the flagship program of the Canadian Environment Awards and honours individuals and groups of Canadians chosen from more than 120 nominations submitted by the Canadian public. Gold and Silver winners in six categories of the Community Awards were announced tonight (see below).Gisèle Jacob, president of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and Clive Mather, president and CEO of Shell Canada, lead corporate sponsor of the Canadian Environment Awards, presented the Gold and Silver recipients with prizes of $5,000 and $2,500, respectively, which they will donate to the environmental cause of their choice. All winners also received framed plaques expressly designed for the Canadian Environment Awards by Canada Post.

"For the past six years, the Canadian Environment Awards has celebrated exceptional individuals and groups who are working to develop sustainable strategies to protect Canada's biodiversity," said Paula Prociuk Blacklock, managing director of the Canadian Environment Awards. "This year, all Canadians have come to recognize the importance of the environment, and in that context, the program has truly come of age. Our winners' stories will resonate from coast to coast. As Canada's original environmental publication, Canadian Geographic is honoured to showcase the achievements and leadership of these extraordinary Canadians, who are an inspiration to the rest of the country."

The Citation of Lifetime Achievement 2007 was presented to biologist, adventurer and film director and producer Jean Lemire, who also delivered the evening's keynote address. Fast becoming one of Canada's most influential environmental ambassadors, Lemire has dedicated the past 20 years to forging a new model for environmental activism, one which mixes adventure with ecology in compelling documentary films that have been seen by millions of viewers around the world. His historic expeditions to the Arctic and the Antarctic have enlightened international audiences about the threats these unique ecosystems face from climate change.

The Ideas for Life Award, created to recognize environmental action demonstrated through the arts, entertainment and design, was given to TOHU, la Cité des arts du cirque. Employing the same ingenuity that has made Quebec the world leader in circus arts, TOHU is a sustainable "green" home for circus arts in Canada, an environmental learning centre and the anchor project for the revitalization of Montréal's Saint-Michel neighbourhood.

St. Jude School, Longueuil (Borough of Greenfield Park), Quebec, and Riverside Secondary School, Windsor, Ontario, were honoured as the Junior and Senior Gold Award winners of The Green Team Challenge, the Canadian Environment Awards' youth initiative. Each received a $2,500 prize in support of their project.

The Canadian Environment Awards is a partnership among Canadian Geographic Enterprises, the Government of Canada and Shell Canada. The Canadian Environment Awards 2007 is supported by 14 Canadian corporations.Shell Canada sponsors the Community Awards; Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co. sponsors the Citation of Lifetime Achievement; TD Bank Financial Group sponsors The Green Team Challenge; and Panasonic Canada sponsors the Ideas for Life Award.

Photographs of the Canadian Environment Awards 2007 gala and profiles of each of this year's winners are available at www.canadiangeographic.ca/cea

Community Environment Alliance - www.communityenvironment.org

Online news source: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2007/04/c8191.html