Heather Buott of Anten Mills looks through her binoculars during a first-time visit to the trail system at Snowdon Park located off of County Road 1 on Tuesday, Sept. 28 in Minden Hills. Snowdon Park is a part of the Highlands Corridor, which is part of the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust’s area of focus. The Land Trust has been granted $61, 750 in funding from the Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 2021-2023 Habitat Stewardship Program, which “will help the HHLT in its efforts to build climate change resilience and improve habitat connectivity for wildlife in Haliburton County, with a focus on the Highlands Corridor.” /DARREN LUM Staff The Haliburton Highlands Land Trust is pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 Enviro-Hero Awards.
Each year HHLT seeks nominations for individuals and/or a group who, through their own initiative and dedication, have contributed to the protection and sustainability of the lands, waters, and species that live there.
This year, in the category of education, we have selected Terry Moore. Terry has been at the forefront of many environmental issues facing Haliburton County and is dedicated to protecting our environment and mitigating the adverse effects of climate change. He was key in the creation of the radio show “Planet Haliburton” on Canoe FM and has interviewed over 94 environmental and climate experts over the years. He is a committee member of Seniors for Climate Action Now! and is involved in promoting the Shoreline Preservation bylaw. Terry and his wife Shirley started the Haliburton Green Burial Society in memory of their son Kyle.
In the category of stewardship and education we have chosen to award the Haliburton County Master Gardeners. The master gardeners work within our community to provide advice and education to individuals and other community groups on a variety of gardening land stewardship topics. Their current focus is on native plants and naturalization of properties, including shorelines. Their website www.haliburtonmastergardener.ca is currently being updated to include information on how you can plant and grow your own fruits and vegetables and much more information on a variety of gardening topics.
The HHLT Enviro-Hero Youth Award goes to Grade 8 student Blake Parkinson. Blake cottages with his grandparents on Lake Kashagawigamog each summer. His goal is to educate others about the environment through social media and other environmentally focused activities and projects. He has achieved much in his young life. Blake started a campaign at his school to raise money to help beluga whales, organized a garbage clean-up initiative, a beach clean-up, and “Swim for the Sea” at the cottage where people swam across the lake to raise money for WWF. Blake started his own Planet Protectors page on Instagram and during the pandemic created his own weekly live episodes. The series started with five Youtube sessions called Blake on the Lake.
HHLT is pleased to honour these wonderful stewards, educators and advocates with a 2021 HHLT Enviro-Hero Award. An in-person award ceremony will take place at a later date.
Submitted by the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust
