Minister of Environment Chester Gillan has announced some changes to the Environmental Advisory Council. The council is appointed under the Environmental Protection Act to advise the minister on issues of environmental concern.
Minister Gillan announced that Leslie Hartling of Stratford has been appointed to the council for a three-year term. A graduate student at the University of Prince Edward Island, Ms. Hartling is working to obtain a Masters of Science degree in the Department of Biology. She replaces Sarah Stewart as the youth representative on the Environmental Advisory Council.
"I want to thank Sarah for her excellent contribution to the council this past year and wish her well in her future studies, and I welcome Leslie to the table. With her keen interest and knowledge of the Island environment, I am certain she will be a fine representative," said Minister Gillan.
Ms. Hartling is currently conducting research on the effects of habitat fragmentation on small mammals. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Honours Biology in 2001 and holds a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada postgraduate scholarship.
Minister Gillan noted that Kevin MacAdam of Morell has been re-appointed as chair of the Environmental Advisory Council. Mr. MacAdam is the vice-principal of Rollo Bay Consolidated School. He has been a member of the council since 1997 and was appointed chair in 2001. Ron Perry of Summerside, a member of the council for the past year, has been appointed as vice-chair. Mr. Perry teaches at Elm Street Elementary School in Summerside.
The membership of the Environmental Advisory Council is geographically representative and includes various interests related to natural resource management. Other council members are: UPEI biology professor Dr. Donna Giberson; Emmerson McMillan of Ascension, an agricultural lime sales representative; Stan Campbell, President of the Federation of Prince Edward Island Municipalities; Summerside lawyer Sherra Profit; Dr. Pierre-Yves Daoust, professor at the Atlantic Veterinary College; teacher Rudy Croken of Kensington; West Cape farmer Lorne MacNeill; fisher Johnny Flynn of Souris; Barry Cudmore, a Brackley farmer; and conservationist Terry Perry of Millvale.