Members and the public are invited to attend AWARE’s July monthly meeting from
6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 2 at the Westin Resort & Spa.

Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed will speak from 7 to 8 p.m. about his recent trip to Sweden and discuss how Whistler compares to the rest of the world when it comes to being sustainable.

The meeting will be followed by Green Drinks – a socializer for people interested in the environment at Black’s Pub.  Hosted by Hilltrip, AWARE, Ziptrek, Eco Everything and Granville Island Brewing.

Saturday June 28th

10 a.m.
at the Whistler Public Library
with Cara Richard & Sarah Desrosiers, BC Parks Interpreter

“AWARE Kid’s Games Day!”

First the children played the “Don’t Drop the World Game”. Played with large beach balls in the friendship circle at the park beside the Whistler Public Library. The children were asked to identify the 3 main sources of life; 1) clean air, 2) clean water and 3) food supply, and were eager to tell the group their solutions to protecting our planet earth’s life giving resources.

The children then enjoyed the challenge of testing their bear knowledge in the ‘Little Bryan Bear Trivia Game’, a giant board game using the stepping stones at the nearby park.

 As a special treat ‘The Great Strawberry Race’ was played. A relay race where children ran their fastest as they learned about slow foods. Juicy organic strawberries supplied by North Arm Farms in Pemberton were enjoyed by all!

Three local businesses were given much deserved recognition at the second annual Energy Film Festival during the Enviro Fest weekend. Across the Creek Organics, Ziptrek Ecotours, and the Westin Resort and Spa beat out some tough competition in the small, medium, and large business categories, respectively to take top honours in the third annual Whistler Environmental Business (WEB) Awards.

The WEB awards are organized by the Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment (AWARE) and given to those businesses who undertake voluntary initiatives in the workplace in an effort to reduce their environmental impact or improve the natural environment. The winners have developed internal and/or community-oriented programs to conserve valuable natural resources or to protect the environment, showing that environmental concerns can be taken into consideration to the mutual benefit of business and the environment. (lots of use of the word environment in this paragraph…try using ecological, nature, etc once and a while)

In the small business category, Pemberton-based Across the Creek Organics took the win as a proven leader in sustainability through measures such as sensitive land conservation, certified organic growing standards, and 100% gravity-fed irrigation techniques. The medium business category was dominated by Ziptrek Ecotours, a company committed to staying green by generation of their own energy needs through micro-hydro and solar power generators as well as the incredible amount of customer awareness-raising through integration of the Natural Step framework into their tours. Finally, the large business category saw a new winner this year with the Westin Resort and Spa edging out the competition through their comprehensive composting program, unique “Carbon Footprint” program and energy efficiency upgrades through Sempa Power Systems.

“With increasing consumer awareness of environmental issues, more people will be seeking out businesses that are addressing issues that are important to them,” says Marc Zurbuchen, AWARE Director. “The WEB Awards are a perfect opportunity to showcase your consciousness of local environmental issues and the steps you are taking to address those issues while operating a successful business.”

AWARE would like to sincerely thank all businesses who took the time to apply for this year’s awards. The work being done by each applicant is truly inspiring and we look forward to holding this award again next year.