Canadian Eco-Kids Honoured for Green Initiatives

Ten-year-old Anna Talman was concerned about idling cars and their effect on air quality. So concerned, in fact, that she did something about it. She started Eco-Air, which stands for Edmonton's Children's Organized Anti-Idling Recruiters. As the name implies, the group is made up of kids who aim to reduce car idling. Eco-Air also hopes to see a bylaw passed by Edmonton city council that will ban idling. Talman started the group when she and some of her friends went to Edmonon's city hall to speak about idling, and now Eco-Air's membership spreads across several local schools.

Talman is one of three national winners of the Sunlight Eco-Action Kids Awards, which honours kids from across Canada who are working towards positive environmental change. Each winner received $1,000, plus another $1,000 to donate to a green charity of their choice.

North Saanich, British Columbia's Montana Wright won for spearheading a composting program at his school. Wright, nine years old, also belongs to his school's Green Team. Along with devoted recycling, they ensure idling-free parking lots, not only at school but across the district.

Though he's just seven years old, Manuel Tremblay, from St-Honoré-de-Chicoutimi, Québec, already makes sustainable living a habit. Not only does he recycle, but he reuses paper napkins, flushes every second visit to the toilet and makes eco-friendly bags to reduce plastic usage.

Applications were sent in from 273 ecologically responsible kids across Canada. Eighteen finalists were then chosen by a panel of representatives from national organizations such as World Wildlife Fund Canada, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), Evergreen, Pembina Institute, Pollution Probe and Zerofootprint. More than 9,000 Canadians then voted online to choose the winners from each age category.

Since Sunlight launched its new laundry detergent in 2006, it seems to have taken steps to be more ecologically responsible as well. During the manufacturing process in 2007, 3,690,000 litres of water were saved, as well as 1,502,000 square feet of cardboard, 201,000 litres of diesel gas and 291,000 pounds of plastic.

Sources:
Edmonton Journal
Marketwire
Sunlight Eco-Action Kids Awards

Image: Marketwire Photo/Unilever

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Canadian Eco-Kids Honoured for Green Initiatives

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