Michelle’s Prize – award for conservation work

I am honoured to announce that I have been awarded the Michelle’s Prize by the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA). This scholarship is awarded through the University of Saskatchewan to a student pursuing graduate degree at the School of Environment and Sustainability or in the Juris Doctor program at the College of Law.

The Michelle’s Prize scholarship was established to mark CELA’s 40th anniversary of legal, community and social activism directed towards protecting our environment, and to honour the life work of Michelle Swenarchuk, lawyer, environmental activist and former Executive Director of CELA who passed away in 2008. Six one-time scholarships for students specializing in environmental studies and environmental law will be awarded through York University and the University of Saskatchewan over the next two years.

Recipients of this award must demonstrate achievements associated with protecting the natural environment. In a letter that I received yesterday, Dr. Toddi Steelman, the Executive Director of SENS and Dr. Sanjeev Anand, Dean of College of Law state:

“We were impressed with your considerable involvement in this regard. Indeed, your extensive participation in several key environmental non-government organizations in Saskatchewan, such as CPAWS [Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society] and Nature Saskatchewan is admirable. We were also impressed with your photography work, and the fact that you use this to promote appreciation and protection of natural environments.”

The Michelle’s Prize arrived with a very nice cheque in the amount of $3,500 which will greatly help with my graduate studies tuition fee. This award will provide me additional motivation to continue my work in protecting the natural environment, and more importantly, in encouraging people to experience and connect with the natural world of which we are part.

Abstraction with trees. Charles M. Russell Nationdal Wildlife Refuge, Montana