GBA Update Summer 2024

GUARDIANS OF THE BAY

By Katherine Denune, Chair, Guardians of the Bay Committee

Introducing the Champion of the Bay Award GBA’s Annual Stewardship Award

W e are thrilled to announce a new annual stewardship award to recognize and honour the efforts of outstanding community members. GBA’s Champion of the Bay Award will celebrate individuals who actively steward the Bay in a manner that promotes environmental well-being.

Award Structure This is a two-tiered award. GBA will recognize a champion from each association and a single overall Champion of the Bay. Each member association will select its own community champion. Nominations and selection for each association’s champion will occur at the association level. The GBA Guardians of the Bay Committee will then select an overall winner to be honoured with greater recognition. In this way, every association and more stewards can be recognized.

Purpose This award has three objectives. First, we want to acknowledge the contributions of dedicated community members. Second, we aim to highlight the local initiatives being undertaken by various associations. Lastly, we hope to inspire more people to get involved in environmental stewardship activities. We appreciate the invaluable volunteer work that so many people have put in along Georgian Bay and are excited to share and celebrate their accomplishments. Qualifications GBA is eager to highlight local and small scale efforts to demonstrate the difference one person or community can make in the environment. Volunteers of any age can be nominated, as long as they contribute to the care of Georgian Bay. We appreciate all kinds of initiatives, whether big or small, that aim for environmental stewardship as the primary goal. Potential ideas for stewardship activities could include active conservation work (e.g. phragmites management, shoreline cleanups, species monitoring, constructing bird and bat houses for the community, clean-up of abandoned docks), environmental education (e.g. organizing community hikes or environment days, contributions to association newsletters, coordination with local NGOs) or any other initiative that positively impacts the natural environment.

Recognition The overall Champion of the Bay will receive a unique art piece and a special spotlight in GBA’s UPDATE newsletter. We are especially excited to share their story with all our members to help inspire more local initiatives. Similarly, all association level champions will be recognized together in UPDATE with summaries of their excellent work. Please visit our website for more information about recognition. Looking Forward If you know someone who deserves recognition for their environmental stewardship efforts and ideas, we would love to hear about them! No effort is too small, so please don’t hesitate to nominate someone you think has made a difference in their community. You can find more information and inspiration on the Champion of the Bay Award page of the GBA website, and we encourage everyone to participate in the nomination process. Remember, anyone can nominate a deserving individual, so please spread the word!

www.georgianbay.ca

GBA UPDATE Summer 2024

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