Sustainable Eastern Ontario Looking For Stars

3 min read July 24, 2023

Sustainable Eastern Ontario is looking for nominees for its annual sustainability awards.

Established in 2017, the Sustainability Star Award is part of Sustainable Eastern Ontario’s effort to celebrate leaders working in our community in areas such as safeguarding water quality, improving access to sustainable transportation options, protecting nature and biodiversity, sharing knowledge of sustainable living, enhancing food security, promoting renewable energy, finding waste management solutions and developing green businesses and communities.

Sustainable Eastern Ontario (https://sustainableeasternontario.ca) is a network organization that fosters partnerships and collaborations on sustainability activities throughout Eastern Ontario. The organization was founded in 2010 to meet the need for a central support organization for smaller organizations, unincorporated clubs, and community groups. They support small ENGOs with quarterly meetings to share information, tools, and resources among local environmental groups in the national capital region through the National Capital Environmental Nonprofit Network (NCENN). These quarterly meetings allow environmental nonprofit organizations to network with other organizations, brainstorm ideas, and learn new ways to build capacity through workshops. They also provide services to new and small environmental organizations, including training, bookkeeping, office space, intern hiring, and communications help.

The awards are made locally near Ottawa from sustainably sourced wood and eco-friendly materials and produced by independent artisans.

Sustainable Eastern Ontario encourages community members to nominate a deserving NGO, community group, business, institution, governmental organization, or First Nation.

Past Winners are listed below:

· 2022: Sustainable North Grenville, Re4mOttawa, Sustainable Capacity Foundation, Greening Sacred Spaces, and Sustainable Youth Canada

· 2021: Just Food Farm, Peace, and Environment Resource Centre, Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-Op, Loving Spoonful, Capacity Building Institute

· 2020: The Box of Life, Quintessence Collaborative/Alani Gallbriath, EnviroCentre, Smart Net Alliance, and Strong Roots Community Garden

· 2019: Algonquin 2 Adirondacks Collaborative, Nu Grocery, Bluegrass Farm, Transition Cornwall+, Ottawa Community Foundation

Nominators must highlight the candidate’s leadership in the following fields of activity:

Sustainability

Programs, initiatives, and actions aimed at the preservation of a particular resource, promoting circular economy initiatives, finding waste management solutions, improving access to sustainable transportation options, protecting nature and biodiversity, sharing knowledge of sustainable living, enhancing food security, promoting renewable energy, and developing green businesses and communities

Leadership

Motivates a group of people to act toward achieving a common goal

Collaboration

Works with other organizations to produce or create something

Community Building

Demonstrates practices directed toward the creation or enhancement of community among individuals or groups within a regional area (such as a neighborhood) or through a common need or interest

Diversity