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Well, one thing is for certain. Canada is not lacking in youth who are passionate about the environment!

Last summer, Brita sent three of Canada’s most promising young environmentalists on a life-changing educational expedition to the Arctic. This summer, Brita will be sending three more deserving students to the Arctic through this incredible program.

Dozens of amazing and inspiring students from across the country submitted entries to Brita’s FilterForGood Eco-Challenge this year. Our judges had a difficult decision to make, but in the end, they chose three promising young environmentalists to receive this year’s grants.

Brita is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2010 Eco-Challenge Student Grants:

Uliana Kovaltchouk, Winnipeg, MB
Fatin Chowdhury, Mississauga, ON
Muhammad (Moe) Qureshi, Mississauga, ON

During a summer internship at the Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD) in Bangladesh, Fatin Chowdhury discovered his passion for environmental conservation and never looked back. As a Peel Environmental Youth Alliance (PEYA) Executive and member of the Green Team, Fatin is involved in organizing community events, tree planting, litter pickups and engaging youth to commit to a sustainable lifestyle. Fatin is the Student Council Vice President at Glenforest Secondary School in Mississauga, where he was one of the main organizers of his school’s first environmental awareness assembly. As an Ecomentor, Fatin teaches elementary students about the environment. Fatin was an environmental facilitator at the Town Youth Participation Strategies (TYPS) National conference in Ottawa and he also gave a presentation on the need for youth-adult partnership at the Ontario Nature Summit. Fatin will be attending the University of Waterloo in the fall where he plans to study environmental engineering and discover new approaches to sustainable living.

Ever since Ernest Shackleton's expedition captured his imagination when he was young, Moe Qureshi has been interested in the Arctic and Antarctic. He looks forward to seeing the Arctic firsthand to understand its importance to our global ecosystem. Moe leads projects for the Peel Environmental Youth Alliance and the Mayor's Youth Advisory Committee, where he finds innovative and hands-on ways to bring green spaces and living to his community. After learning about water quality in Ontario, he helped test water for a study of region-wide watersheds. He has also planted native species to fight invasive species at the University of Toronto Mississauga campus. Moe has a special interest in biodiversity and green spaces and he attended the Ontario Nature's Biodiversity Summit as part of the UN's International Biodiversity campaign. In Grade 12, he will learn to communicate science for the public good at the Ontario Science Centre's Science School. He plans to use these skills to advocate policies that protect ecosystems. Moe lives in Mississauga where he attends Streetsville Secondary School.

Uliana, Fatin and Moe will join Geoff Green and his team from the award-winning organization Students on Ice on an educational expedition to the Arctic in August. There, they’ll learn about climate change, environmental degradation, flora & fauna, glaciology, and much more with leading researchers, experts and scientists in one of the world’s greatest classrooms. They’ll experience nature in ways they may have only dreamed of, and will learn to see the planet with new perspectives as are introduced to Inuit culture, and make new connections with the natural world.

Please click here to view the Arctic expedition itinerary.

Check back later this summer to read about their experiences, see photos and learn more about their journey to the Arctic.

Check out this video featuring last year’s Eco-Challenge grant recipients as they talk about their amazing experience. You can also read their expedition journals here.

Watch these short videos, featuring Canadian explorer and environmental educator, Geoff Green and Eco-Challenge alumnus Bilaal Rajan, to learn more about this year’s program.

 
 

 
 

During the expedition, our winners kept journals in which they reflected on the how the trip impacted them personally. Please click on the links below to read their journals and learn about their unique perspectives on their visit to the North.

A student at Reynolds Secondary School in Victoria, BC, Annelise Miska is an active member her school’s “Green Group”, an environmental action club which focuses on recycling, sustainability and eco awareness. She is also the student coordinator of the Reynolds Recycling Program which works in cooperation with her employer, Pacific Mobile Depots. On the job, Annelise helps educate volunteers on how to sort recyclable materials and works to raise awareness within her community on materials acceptable for recycling.

Bilaal Rajan, who will be attending Lakefield College this fall, is a children’s rights activist, author, motivational speaker, fundraiser and UNICEF children’s ambassador. In 2004, Bilaal founded his own organization to heighten awareness of youth issues and raise money to help kids in need all over the world. Bilaal firmly believes that environmental and social issues of the world are interrelated and need to be addressed together by the youth of the world by taking action now.

A student at Centre Wellington District High School, ON, Sarah Hennekens has grown up with an appreciation and respect for nature. The environment is an integral part of who she is and provides an important lens for her daily life. Among her many activities, Sarah is a Neighbourwoods tree steward, a member of Greenlands Centre Wellington and the leader of the environmental group at her high school. She has petitioned for the ban of plastic bags in her community and for the inclusion of Wellington County in Ontario's greenbelt.