Canon Oceania reveals the 2012 Environmental Grant winners
SYDNEY, 26 October 2012: Canon Oceania today announced the winners of its seventh annual environmental grants program. The eight community projects, selected by Canon, will receive $40,000* worth of Canon products to help each community organisation achieve its goals.
Nominations were sought from across Australia and New Zealand in five categories – National, Regional, Grassroots, School and Youth. The winners have been selected based on the environmental merits of the projects and the importance of Canon products in contributing to a positive environmental outcome.
The winning projects from Australia and New Zealand are listed below:
Australia:
- National Award – Devil Ark (NSW) – The largest conservation breeding program in Australia for the endangered Tasmanian devil.
- Regional Award – Land for Wildlife Alice Springs (NT) – Providing landholders with advice around nature conservation by managing and protecting the wildlife habitat on their property.
- Grassroots Award – O.U.C.H (QLD) – An organisation dedicated to the protection of the local marine environment in the Whitsundays.
- School Award – Mount Eliza Secondary College (VIC) – A group of year 11/12 students working to rehabilitate remnant bushland for their local community.
- Youth Award – Sarah Shark Productions (QLD) – An independently produced series of documentaries around shark-related issues.
New Zealand:
- Grassroots Award – Kaipupu Point Mainland Island Society Inc. (South Island) – An organisation dedicated to the restoration and recovery of the natural ecosystems in the Kaipup Sanctuary.
- Regional Award – Garden to Table Trust (North Island) – A program for children to grow, harvest, prepare and share fresh food as part of a school curriculum linked programme.
- School Award – Pukehou School (North Island) – Providing students with the opportunity to create a bee garden at their school which will allow them to produce their own honey.
"Each year, we are inspired by the quality of projects we receive and this year is no exception. We're proud to be able to provide such worthy organisations with some of the best imaging equipment available" said Janet Leslie, Sustainability Manager, Canon Oceania.
"We look forward to seeing the end result of these projects. I'd really encourage small community groups to apply for the 2013 grant. Winners can choose from a range of products including DSLR cameras, video cameras, binoculars, projectors and multi-function devices."
"This program is in line with Canon's corporate philosophy of Kyosei (living and working together for the common good) which has a commitment to give back to the community. It's a great way for us to support the valuable community organisations that dedicate their time and energy to local initiatives – by providing world leading imaging equipment that inspires and enables ongoing success," concluded Janet.
Devil Ark – National award winner, Australia
The National Award was won this year by Devil Ark, a Tasmanian Devil insurance breeding program which seeks to ensure the survival and sustainability of a species which is predicted to be extinct in the next 10 years.
"Tasmanian Devils are nocturnal as well as incredibly shy. Our enclosure is over 2 hectares in size, so this makes monitoring extremely difficult. We try to be very hands-off and not disturb the animals too much. With the use of our new Canon equipment it will be much easier to effectively and accurately track information about the species that we haven’t been able to capture until now," said Monique Ryan, Campaign Manager, Devil Ark.
Sarah Shark Productions- Youth award winner, Australia
Sarah Shark Productions is an independently produced series of six documentaries focused on raising public awareness around shark-related issues. The project is the brain-child of 22 year old shark enthusiast, Sarah Richmond, who is also the primary researcher, producer and presenter in the series.
"The Canon grant will provide much needed support for our project. As a full time student I need to work a lot of hours on the side to help cover production costs, so the $5000 grant will obviously go a long way," said Sarah. "With members of the production team based on The Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and in the UK, sharing equipment has been incredibly difficult. This XF300 professional video camera will give us more flexibility and allow us to grab last minute footage where needed," added Sarah.
For more information on Canon Environmental Grants please visit: http://www.canon.com.au/About-Canon/Sustainability-Environment/Environment/Environmental-Grants Additional information on Canon’s local performance in its approach to sustainable business is published in Canon Oceania’s sustainability reports.
The report for 2011 Embracing Change, can be viewed here http://www.canon.com.au/About-Canon/Sustainability-Environment/Sustainability-Report
*The grants worth $40,000 of product value across Australia and New Zealand includes $25,000 AUD and $15,000 NZD