The Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority has awarded several individuals, organizations and businesses with awards for their volunteer work or dedication to the environment.
The acknowledgments were made during the authority’s annual general meeting, held March 2 at the Ridgetown Campus of the University of Guelph.
The Rotary Club of Chatham Sunrise received a Volunteer Hero Award for its members’ work on events like the Chatham-Kent and Lambton Children’s Water Festival and CK Paddle and Clean.
David Braukis also received a Volunteer Hero Award. He lives near the Big O Conservation Area and regularly walks the trails looking out for problems, picking up litter and offering ideas to improve the conservation area. He also regularly monitors other Lower Thames properties.
The St. Clair College border services and police foundations program received the third Volunteer Hero Award. Students from the Thames dampus have provided volunteer security services to the Chatham-Kent and Lambton Children’s Water Festival since 2007.
Chad and Kate Hoskins were named the Most Generous Landowners. They worked with the conservation authority to return 1.2 hectares (three acres) of land in the Ridgetown area to nature.
The conservation authority recognized Twin Dolphin/Strong House Canada Corp., a business out of Wallaceburg, with the Most Dedicated Organization award. They provided a large proportion of the paddles for the second-annual CK Paddle and Clean event on the Thames River, as well as the recycling bins to sort the collected waste.
