South Nation River Conservation Authority up for Shell FuellingChange Program Funding – May 13, 2011

 

CFN – Canadians are being empowered to influence Shell Canada on which environmental programs and groups it supports through a new social investment program it launched today called FuellingChange™. The program allows Canadians to vote on environmental programs that help preserve Air, Land and Water.
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“As we mark Shell’s 100th year in Canada, we look forward to helping Canada move toward a new energy future,” said Les Markiewicz, Shell Canada’s General Manger, Bulk Fuels. “FuellingChange™ does just that. We know the environment is important to our customers, and want to give them the tools to help us support the environmental causes they care about most.”
FuellingChange™ sees Shell Canada working with 54 environmental protection and conservation projects across the country that applied to be part of this evolution in the company’s environmental funding approach. Funding will be provided to grassroots, action-oriented projects that improve, restore and protect the Canadian environment. Over the past 20 years, Shell has distributed more than $16 million through Shell Environmental Fund (SEF). FuellingChange™ replaces this Fund, and shifts decision-making about environmental priorities from the company to its customers.
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FuellingChange™ is simple. Customers make a purchase at any Shell retail station in Canada. Each purchase earns customers voting codes found on their receipts. They then visit www.shell.ca/fuellingchange to redeem those codes and vote for the project they want the company to support. To get people started Shell is giving all Canadians 10 free votes just for creating an online profile. Subsequent votes will require a Shell purchase.
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The 54 environmental projects short-listed to participate in the program – focused in the areas of land, water and air conservation and protection – are eligible to receive funding at three grant levels: $25,000, $50,000 and $100,000 and multiple projects will be awarded funding at each of these three levels. In addition, those organizations not successful through the voting process are still eligible to receive $10,000 for their project.
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“The Canadian Wildlife Federation is excited to be a participant in the FuellingChange™ program,” said Wade Luzny, Executive Vice President and CEO, Canadian Wildlife Federation. “Our cause, The Amazing Turtle Migration, is a critical one to help us conserve the majestic leatherback seaturtle. If our project is selected, the Amazing Turtle Migration would get underway during the summer of 2012. Researchers will apply satellite tags to female leatherback turtles off the coast of Nova Scotia as they make their way to their southern nesting grounds. Knowledge is power. And helping scientists get a better understanding of the threats leatherbacks face during migration is key to conserving this endangered species.”
Regionally: South Nation River Conservation Authority in the Finch region is a part of the short-listed 54 organizations and eligible for the grants.

The South Nation watershed is the 4,000 square kilometresof eastern Ontario drained by the South Nation River system. It includes naturalized properties, agricultural land and suburban and urban developments. The river flows from tiny headwater streams near Brockville on the watershed’s southern boundary. As the South Nation meanders northeast, it gathers water from as far away as Maxville to the east, and the City of Ottawa to the west. By the time the South Nation joins the Ottawa River near Plantagenet, it is a mature, navigable waterway.

South Nation Conservation  works closely with its partner municipalities, government, individual landowners and various community groups to maintain and improve the natural resources within the South Nation watershed.

South Nation Conservation staff believe that grassroots management of the local environment is essential to maintaining human health and maximizing the potential for economic growth and prosperity – now and for future generations.

In order to ensure and improve the continued health of the watershed, South Nation Conservation:

  • Plants thousands of trees for landowners to help filter pollution, clean our water and prevent soil loss.
  • Maintains and improves 19,000 hectares of public forests.
  • Operates seven parks and conservation areas as well as trails, boat launches and canoe routes for the enjoyment of the public
  • Distributes hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants for member municipalities, farmers, landowners and community groups for clean water projects.
  • Ensures that development, including new housing, is environmentally responsible and does not endanger lives.
  • Monitors the quality and quantity of water resources and tracks long-term changes to ensure a safe supply of clean water.
  • Operates water control structures to moderate river flow and prevent flooding.
  • Improves the fisheries and fish habitat of the South Nation so our fish species do not disappear.

South Nation Conservation works with its partners to ensure that the South Nation watershed has healthy accessible forests and recreational areas, abundant fish and wildlife, natural shorelines and enough clean water for now and for the future.

South Nation Conservation protects and improves the South Nation Watershed through a process that includes:

  • inclusive and continuous consultation with all segments of the community
  • detailed planning
  • educational initiatives
  • enforcement of environmental legislation as necessary
  • a variety of hands-on management activities and projects
EOTB

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