A $2000 scholarship has been awarded to a local secondary graduate by the Grey Sauble Conservation Foundation.
The 2023 award was presented to Alexander Adair, who graduated from Owen Sound District Secondary School and is studying for a degree in Wildlife Biology and Conservation at the University of Guelph.
Grey Sauble Conservation Foundation Chair Don Sankey says that they made a good choice in selecting this year’s recipient.
“He’s quite a volunteer and participant. He’s responsible for studying snapping turtles up in Bruce National Park, and he also works with the Ministry of Natural Resources studying what fish eat — the salmon and rainbow trout.”
Sankey says he’s read Adair’s research about the fish and has even shared some information with his personal fishing contacts.
Adair’s ultimate career goal is to become a wildlife veterinarian.
Sankey says that he’s constantly impressed by the students who apply for the scholarship.
“I just think this generation that’s currently graduating from secondary school are very environmentally aware, and they do want to make changes. They realize the environment is changing and they want to take some action, and I give them full marks for that.”
The scholarship is named in honour of Malcolm Kirk, who back in the 1960s and 1970s, was instrumental in acquiring a substantial portion of the lands that are owned and managed by Grey Sauble Conservation, before his passing in 2012.
The application deadline for next year’s award is May 31, 2024.