Yukon Biodiversity Awareness Month...all April


For current information on Biodiversity in the Yukon, go to the Environment Yukon website


The 2011 Yukon Biodiversity Awareness Award goes to...

Bob Sharp
Bob has been a teacher and an educator in Yukon for over 40 years. Some of the many highlights of his contribution to biodiversity awareness focus on engaging youth. Bob has been a teacher trainer for Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program for 13 years. He along with Remy Rodden and Alain Dallaire brought the international Envirothon competition to Yukon in 2003. Bob has been involved with International Polar Year, to get grade 11 students doing hands-on projects in the field.

Bob's vision initiated the Experiential Science Program when he was superintendent in 1991. This Yukon public school program for grade 11 students integrates Biology, Geography, Forestry, Chemistry, Art, and Field Methods. The program evolved from a realization that learning and understanding would benefit from hands-on experiences on the land. The program excites, inspires, challenges and motivates students with rigorous field methods, well kept data and sound scientific methodology. Over 500 Yukon students have participated in the program many continuing their education through College and University. He continues to help Yukon teachers and students to get outdoors and discover their environment. He received the Prime Minister's Award of Excellence for Teaching in 1997. His influence reaches nearly every Yukon community and he has lived and taught in Carcross, Old Crow, Ross River and Whitehorse.

Background

The Yukon Biodiversity Working Group has recognized seven recipients of the Yukon Biodiversity Awareness Award in recent years:

2001 Helmut Grünberg.
2001 Robert Frisch (posthumously)
2002 Charlie Peter Charlie
2005 Phil Caswell (posthumously)
2006 Bill Cody
2007 Manfred Hoefs
2008 Dave Mossop
2009 Ted Murphy-Kelly, Ben Schoneville
2010 Joe Johnson, Jim Hawkings

Guidelines:
The goals of the award are to recognize people who have promoted biodiversity awareness and stewardship in the Yukon. Their efforts may have:

  • provided contributions that benefit the Yukon
  • increased biodiversity awareness and education, and , or
  • made a significant contribution that is well demonstrated.

There is no requirement that nominees be Yukon residents however there is an expectation that their contribution benefited Yukon. We request short, written nominations and appreciate any anecdotes or details that nominators can supply that will help us understand the full impact of the nominee's work. Members of the BWG who may be nominated will be considered but will be asked to excuse themselves from the portion of the meeting dealing with the award. More than one annual award may be given.


Listen to an info clip on Yukon biodiversity here (MP3, 363K).

For further information on biodiversity follow some of the links listed below:

Related links (Yukon):

"The Importance of Biodiversity" Your Yukon article

EENorth: Online Guide to Environmental Education Resources for Canada's North

Frog Watch Yukon

Yukon Department of Environment

Teaching About Biodiversity

Canadian Forestry Association School Kit

Biodiversity...Bio-What? Download overheads and a lesson plan that illustrate six reasons to protect biodiversity.

Why preserve biodiversity? lesson plan (Grades 6-9)

Biodiversity Basics Downloadable lesson plans (games) from the World Wildlife Federation.

Backyard Biodiversity and Beyond Yukon learning resource

Ology: Biodiversity, Everything Counts Kid's page from American Museum of Natural History

Related links (Other):

Convention on Biological Diversity

International Biodiversity Day May 22

The Biodiversity Project

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Canadian Biodiversity Information Network (CBIN)

Canadian Centre for Biodiversity (Museum of Nature)

Canadian Forestry Service

Canadian Nature Federation Homepage:

Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS)

Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC)

Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN)

Environment Canada

Natural Resources Canada

Sierra Club of Canada

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Canada

 

International Sites:

Defenders of Wildlife

Conservation International website

UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre

Convention on Biological Diversity Website

The Natural History Museum, London

World Conservation Monitoring Centre


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