Meredith Brown, executive director of Ottawa Riverkeeper, was honoured for her environmental advocacy earlier this month as the winner of a 2015 Nature Inspiration Awards from the Canadian Museum of Nature.
The second annual national awards, organized and presented at the McLeod Street museum, were divided into six categories: youth, adult, small-to-medium and large not-for-profit organizations, as well as a lifetime achievement award.
Brown, who won the adult category, started with the Ottawa Riverkeeper in 2004 and has led the organization to become a strong voice for sustainable water management and for conservation of the Ottawa River watershed.
She has degrees from Queen’s University and the University of Guelph in biology and environmental engineering, adding to her creditability.
Brown also earned a masters degree in Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University, where she worked with Robert Newbury, a world-renowned river engineer and stream restoration specialist.
She was recently named a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and sits on advisory committees such as an Environmental Stewardship Committee with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited.
She has been a driving force behind the Ottawa River Action Plan, and has helped develop the Riverwatchers, a group of community volunteers who work to protect the river by doing things like testing water, education and outreach, and helping local people with shoreline issues.
The Riverwatchers all identify themselves with specific areas of the river or a tributary and get involved in a way that fits their interests or skills. Each River Watch group identifies activities in their community that may be having an impact on that section of the river.
Winners received $5,000 to give to a program of their choice. Presenting sponsor Enbridge Inc. supported this year’s awards, along with media sponsors The Walrus and the Globe and Mail.
Scott’s Miracle Gro specifically sponsored the adult category.
Brown, who says she felt honoured to have been selected, chose to give her prize money to her own Ottawa Riverkeeper.
Brown said it would go to the Riverwatcher program and to help connect their communities to the river.
“I always like to remind people that we really need everybody to help,” said Brown.
An ongoing challenge for Brown is the untreated sewage that flows into the Ottawa River.
With Brown doing everything she can in Ottawa to protect the rivers, Quebec is causing its own issues.
Catherine McKenna, the federal Environment Minister, granted Montreal permission to dump eight billion litres of raw sewage into the St. Lawrence River so the city can make critical repairs to its wastewater system, although the plan does come with conditions, including water-quality monitoring.
“We’ve been working with the City of Ottawa for a long time whose been reducing that every year, which is fantastic,” said Brown. “But now we really want to work with the City of Gatineau because they’re dumping more than the City of Ottawa in the river.”
Brown is looking to make it a priority to reduce the amount of sewage going into the river by working with the people of Gatineau and their council.
Meg Beckel, president and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Nature, acts as a member of the jury and spearheaded the creation of the awards in 2014.
“The nomination of Meredith is not only what she herself had done as an individual for Ottawa Riverkeeper, but also the example she sets of what a single individual can do,” says Beckel.
The criteria the jury looked for, according to Beckel, included innovation, creativity, reach and impact. The finalists are discussed over a four-hour meeting in Toronto.
Beckel says jury members hope this award will help share Brown’s story with as many organizations and media outlets across Canada as possible, with the goal of inspiring others to step up in their own way for whatever aspect of nature inspiration is meaningful for them.
“Mostly, we just hope Meredith will carry on doing what she’s doing,” says Beckel.
She says the museum will also consider calling on Brown to speak at an outreach event so she can tell people her story and talk about the work of Ottawa Riverkeeper.