BROCKTON – This year’s winner of the Walkerton Clean Water Legacy Award is Viviane Weiland, a graduate of Walkerton District Community School studying environmental biology at McGill University in Montreal.
Weiland offered a heart-felt thank you at a small ceremony at the Walkerton Heritage Water Garden last week, saying the $1,500 award will help offset the cost of living so far from home to attend school.
“This takes a load off my back, and allows me to focus more on my studies,” said the Mildmay resident, who’s home for the summer. “I really appreciate this scholarship and the opportunity.”
The award is offered through an education endowment with the Community Foundation Grey Bruce. The Walkerton Clean Water Legacy Fund was created to honour those affected by the water tragedy in 2000 and to celebrate bright, enterprising students in Grey and Bruce counties entering the field of environmental studies or clean water management.
Weiland is one of those students. The 18-year-old has lived on a farm since she was young, and said she has always been drawn to the natural environment. A high school teacher in Walkerton sparked her interest in ecosystems, which she is now studying in university.
“I’m very interested in preserving ecosystems when they’re destroyed and helping to restore them,” she said.
Urban ecology – helping cities become greener – also fascinates her.
Weiland did a co-op placement with Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority last year, and will be working outdoors this summer as well, for the Municipality of South Bruce.
“It’s nice to be back on the farm,” she said, “enjoying the fresh air and relaxed pace.”
Mayor Chris Peabody congratulated Weiland on her achievement, and wished her well in her studies and future endeavors.
“I’m pleased to see so many students in our area committed to environmental issues and ensuring safe and sustainable communities for the future,” he said.
Last year’s legacy award winner, Connor Maxwell, Brockton Coun. Tim Elphick, and Brian Bates, CEO of the Walkerton Clean Water Centre, attended the presentation on behalf of the Legacy Award committee. Jennifer Isber-Legge, grants and donor relations co-ordinator for Community Foundation Grey Bruce, was also present.
She noted that the Walkerton award – open to students from Bruce or Grey counties studying environmental science or clean water management at a recognized college or university, or at the Walkerton Clean Water Centre – has attracted a strong slate of candidates since it was launched in 2021.
More than half a dozen students applied this year, mostly in science or arts programs involving environmental studies, including the protection of clean water. Applications will open for next year’s award in the spring.
Anyone wishing to contribute to the fund should call Community Foundation Grey Bruce at 519-371-7203. The money is invested in perpetuity, with earnings awarded to each year’s student recipient. The fund is growing through individual and local group donations with the goal of awarding more than one student each year.
The municipality is extremely grateful to all the groups and individuals who have donated to the fund to date.
