Toronto, May 21, 2008 — The Canadian Environment Awards today announced the short list of finalists who will be honoured during its annual celebration of environmental achievement. Inspired by the community-action objectives of Canadian Environment Week, which takes place this year from June 1 to 7, the Canadian Environment Awards program is a national bilingual celebration that recognizes four levels of environmental excellence: Community Awards, Citation of Lifetime Achievement, the Ideas for Life™ Award and The Green Team Challenge.

The Community Awards, the flagship program of the Canadian Environment Awards, celebrates 18 individuals and grassroots groups that have been chosen by a panel of environmental luminaries from nominations submitted by the Canadian public. “This year’s finalists demonstrate tremendous ingenuity and determination, and I congratulate them,” says David Collyer, president of Shell Canada, the lead corporate sponsor of the Canadian Environment Awards. “Striving to find sustainable solutions to today’s tough environmental challenges demands creativity and persistence. These extraordinary Canadians are an inspiration to us all.” Profiles of the 18 finalists (see below), representing six categories of environmental achievement (Climate Change, Conservation, Environmental Health, Environmental Learning, Restoration & Rehabilitation and Sustainable Living), have been published in English and French magazines.

In 2008, the Canadian Environment Awards will also present Edward Burtynsky with the Ideas for Life™ Award, created to recognize environmental action demonstrated through the arts, entertainment and design. Burtynsky is one of Canada’s most innovative and respected photographers, recognized for his extraordinary large-format photographic renderings of industrial landscapes.

The program’s top honour, the Citation of Lifetime Achievement, will be presented to Maude Barlow, who for 25 years has been a fierce advocate for the rights of Canadians and for Canadian sovereignty on economic, trade and social issues that have a deep connection to the environment. Barlow’s most recent campaign focuses on the world’s water crisis. Maude Barlow will deliver the keynote address at the annual Awards Gala, which will be held on Monday, June 2, at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex in Toronto. On that night, the Gold and Silver Community Awards winners will be recognized with $5,000 and $2,500 prizes, respectively, to donate to the environmental cause of their choice. The Junior and Senior winners of The Green Team Challenge, which is the youth initiative, will also be announced on this occasion.

The Canadian Environment Awards program was founded in 2002 as a partnership between the Government of Canada and Canadian Geographic Enterprises, which manages the program and publishes the magazines. The Canadian Environment Awards is also supported by nine Canadian corporations. Shell Canada is the lead corporate sponsor. For complete details of the Canadian Environment Awards 2008 or to purchase tickets to the Awards Gala, visit www.canadiangeographic.ca/cea.>

For More Information: Diane Chaperon-Lor Public Relations Manager, Canadian Environment Awards Telephone: 416-653-0849 Cellphone: 416-788-8271 E-mail: chaperonlor@canadiangeographic.ca

Finalists for the Canadian Environment Awards 2008

Citation of Lifetime Achievement 2008 - Maude Barlow, activist, advocate and chair of The Council of Canadians, Ottawa, Ontario

Ideas For Life™ Award 2008 - Edward Burtynsky, photographer, Toronto, Ontario

Community Awards Finalists 2008 - Climate Change - Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology Student Volunteers, Share the Warmth™ Home Energy-Efficiency Project, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan - Judith Sayers, Hupacasath First Nation/Upnit Power Corporation, Port Alberni, British Columbia - Zerofootprint, carbon-reduction network for consumers and businesses, Toronto, Ontario

Conservation - Appalachian Corridor Appalachien, transborder conservation initiative, Lac-Brome, Québec - Jon Lien, founder, Whale Research Group of Memorial University, Portugal Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador - Ocean Net, shoreline cleanup program, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador

Environmental Health - Jim Brophy and Margaret Keith, community health advocates, Windsor, Ontario - Clean Air Foundation, Switch Out and Switch the ’Stat, Toronto, Ontario - Evergreen, national program to create outdoor classrooms for play and learning, Toronto, Ontario

Environmental Learning - André Bélisle, clean-air and climate-change activist, - Saint-Léon-de-Standon, Québec Club agroenvironnemental du bassin La Guerre, council for the promotion and development of sustainable agriculture, Saint-Anicet, Québec - Établissements verts Brundtland, education for a sustainable future, Québec, Québec

Restoration & Rehabilitation - Alberta Birds of Prey Foundation and the Town of Coaldale, community raptor rehabilitation and education centre, Coaldale, Alberta - Comité ZIP Jacques-Cartier, group for the enhancement of the St. Lawrence River at Montréal, Québec - Gerard Nellestijn, Salmo Watershed Streamkeepers Society, Salmo, British Columbia

Sustainable Living - Local Food Plus, network for the certification and promotion of locally produced food, Toronto, Ontario - The Otesha Project, national youth-driven sustainability campaign, Ottawa, Ontario - The Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul, Heirloom Seed Sanctuary, Kingston, Ontario

The Green Team Challenge 2008 - Junior: Dunrankin Drive Public School, Mississauga, Ontario - Senior: Henry Street High School, Whitby, Ontario

For complete details of the Canadian Environment Awards 2008, visit www.canadiangeographic.ca/cea.>