Photo from left: Richard Wyma, Executive Director, Essex Region Conservation Foundation, Frank Belanger, utility services manager, Union Gas

UNION GAS HELPS CONNECT STUDENTS TO NATURE

Union Gas is continuing to help local students reconnect with nature with a $4,000 grant to support ERCA’s Nature in Education program, hands-on outdoor education programs that teach students about cultural heritage, habitats, water, and wildlife using environmental science-based studies.

The program, linked to the Ontario curriculum, is aimed at students from kindergarten to Grade 12, and includes field activities such as map courses, hawk banding and stream table experiments at regional Conservation Areas.  More than 350,000 youth have participated since the program began nearly 30 years ago.

“In today’s world of tablets, cell phones and other electronic devices, connecting young people with the world around us has never been more important,” said Susan Stockwell Andrews, President of the Essex Region Conservation Foundation.  “This generous contribution from Union Gas, a long-time supporter of Nature in Education, is critically important to allowing us to continue to offer these programs and educate the next generation of environmental stewards.” 

“At Union Gas, the energy we deliver comes from nature, so we understand the importance of the environment,” said Frank Belanger, utility services manager, Union Gas. “We believe that environmental education and conservation are simply the right thing to do, for this generation and generations to come.”