The Walkerton Clean Water Legacy Award is accepting applications from students who are pursuing careers in environmental science or clean water management.
The municipality of Brockton says the successful applicant will receive $1,500 towards their studies at a recognized college or university, or at the Walkerton Clean Water Centre this year.
Brockton Mayor Chris Peabody says they are pleased to be offering this award to local students passionate about environmental protection and clean water management.
“We were very encouraged by the number of applications last year and hope to continue this strong momentum,” says Peabody.
The municipality says the award was created to commemorate the Walkerton water tragedy, an E. coli outbreak occurring 22 years ago. The award honours those who were affected and supports the next generation of students going into environmental stewardship and the protection of clean water.
The scholarship is distributed from the earned income from an endowment fund, which is held by the Community Foundation Grey Bruce.
Executive Director of Community Foundation Grey Bruce Stuart Reid says, “we are very happy to be able to support this initiative as part of our education grants for Grey Bruce students.”
The award is available to any student in Grey and Bruce counties, and the submissions will be judged by a panel of local representatives.
Last year’s winner Connor Maxwell is studying environmental engineering at Guelph University and has plans to work in the water sector.
“It’s a super interesting industry, and it will be more and more important all the time,” says Maxwell.
Maxwell adds the award helped him pay for his classes and the Walkerton water tragedy was studied in three of this classes.
“It showed me the scale of the tragedy and how much it changed the water sector, for all of Ontario,” says Maxwell.
Those interested in applying for the award can visit the Community Foundation Grey Bruce website.
