www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, February 20, 2014 | 4 Eight residents take home heritage awards by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff Eight Oakville residents have been honoured for their contribution to preserving local heritage. Debbie Guerin, Ursula Greer, George Chisholm, Andrea Stewart, Clare Fiala, Brayden Ross, Julia Mogus and Emma Mogus were each recognized with an Ontario Heritage Trust award during a ceremony at Town Hall Tuesday. The award, established in 1996 by the province's lead heritage agency, salutes community volunteers and young leaders who have made a significant contribution to preserving, protecting and promoting community heritage. Each year, Ontario Heritage Trust receives nominations from Ontario municipalities, First Nations band councils and Métis community councils through three recognition programs, Heritage Community Recognition, Young Heritage Leaders and Community Leadership. Oakville Town council's commitment to the preservation of Oakville's heritage is reflected by the dedication of its outstanding award recipients, according to Mayor Rob Burton. Residents received awards -- certificates and a pin -- honouring their volunteer work Oakville Historical Society President George Chisholm, centre, with Melanie Hare, an Ontario Heritage Trust board member, and Mayor Rob Burton during Tuesday's Heritage Awards presentation at Oakville Town Hall. Chisholm was among eight residents who received heritage awards. | photo by Steven der Garabedian - special to the Beaver across six categories. St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School teachers Guerin and Greer received a Natural Heritage Award through the Heritage Community Recognition program for their dedication in promoting environmental steward- ship at their Millbank Drive school. "We think it's an important role we play in the lives of these kids," said Guerin. "Somebody's got to step up to the plate. It's a lot of work, but every minute of it is worthwhile." The pair has led the school's Eco Commit- tee over seven years and has been instrumental in the transformation of the schoolyard into an outdoor classroom. About 150 trees have been planted around the school to preserve the community's natural heritage, Guerin said. "Everything we do, we think about how it's going to impact the environment," she said, noting there are eco-detectives in each classroom and numerous eco-conscious programs such as the school's anti-idling campaign. "When you teach kids at such a young age, they go home and teach their parents," she said. The school has been recognized with an Ontario EcoSchools gold certification. In 2011, it received top honours in North America as well as within the Halton Catholic District School Board for its efforts. "We were the first school in our board to start the green bins," Guerin boasted, adding the school also made the connection with a company called TerraCycle four years ago to purchase all of its collected chocolate bar and cookie wrappers. "We've reduced the amount of garbage our school produces seven years ago from about 80 garbage bags a day, because they pick up twice a day, to less than half a bag for the whole school with a population with 750 kids," she said. see Volunteers on p.9