CBT pours over $1 million into environmental projects

Projects to benefit Basin environment, communities and residents

The endangered white sturgeon is one of the main focuses of the Our Wish for BC Fish 2013 program, which is one of 36 projects receiving support through Columbia Basin Trust's Environmental Initiatives Program.

Thirty-six projects striving to help maintain or enhance environmental conditions and environmental education in and around their communities will be receiving over $1 million in support from CBT through its Environmental Initiatives Program (EIP).

"These projects will have positive effects on the Basin environment through both direct action and education," said Sabrina Curtis, CBT Director, Sector Initiatives, "helping reduce the impacts people have on our region's aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems."

One of the approved projects is Our Wish for BC Fish 2013. This environmental education and outreach program raises awareness and encourages stewardship in youth of BC's natural resources. Aimed at grade five students, the program covers a variety of subject matter, including wild habitat preservation, human impacts, trout and sturgeon lifecycles, sturgeon as an endangered species and geographical and historical impacts.

"The response to this program has been overwhelmingly positive, both from the teachers' perspectives and the students'," said Leanne Jones, Outreach Coordinator, Kootenay Trout Hatchery. "By offering students interactive, hands-on opportunities to experience alternate methods of learning, we have enabled a wider audience to grasp various concepts. This program is an excellent example of combining learning with fun."

EIP provides support to community-initiated and -supported projects. It includes small grants geared at projects under $10,000 and large grants that, in the fall 2012 intake, funded projects up to $50,000. See the projects approved for funding.

The next large grants intake will take place in fall 2013. A small grants intake will be opening shortly; click here for details.

Over the past 11 years, the program has provided over $5 million in funding for environmental conservation, restoration, stewardship and education projects across the Basin. For more information visit EIP. To learn more about CBT's other environmental priorities.

CBT supports efforts to deliver social, economic and environmental benefits to the residents of the Columbia Basin. To learn more about CBT programs and initiatives, visit their website or call 1.800.505.8998.