Photo by Dave Darichuk, January 26, 2010
Teresa Homik, Manager, National Aboriginal Affairs, Enbridge Pipelines Inc.
Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, President and Vice-Chancelllor, UWinnipeg
Enbridge Eco-Kids and Kevin Chief, Innovative Learning Centre Coordinator
WINNIPEG, MB – A $25,000 grant from Enbridge presented to The University of Winnipeg today will help build strength and sustainability in Winnipeg’s inner-city, providing 40 school children with the chance to learn about science on the University campus and engage in fun educational activities.
The Enbridge Eco-Kids on Campus program allows Grade 5 and 6 children to come to UWinnipeg’s campus once a week, for 10 weeks, to do various types of science activities including DNA sampling and blood typing, squid dissection and constructing mechanical machines. Science professors, Faculty of Education students and instructors from UWinnipeg’s Collegiate are involved in running the activities. A field trip is also planned. The Enbridge sponsorship, granted as part of the Enbridge School Plus Program, will be used for transportation, nutrition for the kids, supplies and equipment for the activities.
“Our investment in the Enbridge Eco-Kids on Campus program goes right to the heart of our commitment to building sustainable communities,” said D’Arcy Levesque, Vice President, Public & Government Affairs, Enbridge. “By providing young people the opportunity to participate in enrichment programming that keeps them interested in learning and exploring the world, we are inspiring a new generation of students to start thinking about university as a real possibility for their own future.”
“We are erasing the line between our campus and our surrounding community, and developing a unique community learning mission aimed at closing the graduation gap that exists in the inner-city,” said Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, President and Vice-Chancellor, UWinnipeg. “The Enbridge Eco-Kids on Campus program is a vital part of that commitment. We also organize Winnipeg’s largest inner-city summer camp, mentor high school students in our labs, share our state-of- the-art fitness facility with nearby residents, and offer free lectures, conferences, workshops and computer access to neighbourhood residents.”
Strathcona School pioneered Eco-Kids on Campus and in 2010 a second inner city school, Wellington School, is participating.
Kevin Chief and Gerri Zacharias of UWinnipeg’s Innovative Learning Centre coordinate the Enbridge Eco-Kids on Campus. “This contribution from Enbridge will go a long way to helping the UWinnipeg provide programming to children from the inner-city of Winnipeg,” said Zacharias. “Students from local elementary schools will be able to participate in activities and experiments that will enhance their understanding of science and environmental stewardship as well as promote a deeper understanding of the teachings of traditional Indigenous science. Thank you Enbridge for your very generous support.”
Earlier this month, UWinnipeg’s Eco-Kids program received a $42,000 donation over 3 years from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC’s) PromoScience program.
The Enbridge School Plus Program is program established by Enbridge in partnership with the Assembly of First Nations to encourage First Nations youth to stay in school, by funding enjoyable extra-curricular programs to which those students would not otherwise have access, enabling them to pursue higher education and secure better jobs in the future.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Diane Poulin, Communications Officer, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135,
E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
Jennifer Varey, Media, Enbridge Inc.
P: (403) 508-6563,
E: jennifer.varey@enbridge.com
