Way to go Ambassadors 2017!
The RCA’s Recycling Ambassadors were busy this summer and had the opportunity to work for diverse projects throughout the province. They conducted site visits of diversion programs at CBE schools, assisted AET Group Inc. with a litter audit in Edmonton, provided public education and outreach at City of Edmonton and City of Lethbridge Sustainival events, completed a return collection facility review for AUOMA, assisted City of Calgary with three separate waste audits, assisted the Town of Cochrane with an Eco Centre user survey and, on weekends, they attended Alberta Recycling Roundup events with a promotional tent and educational materials illustrating the electronics and paint recycling programs.
Ambassador Training week at Liberty Tire Recycling
A little about our Ambassadors
Curtis Pridham graduated from SAIT with an Environmental Technology diploma. He is currently pursuing an Environmental Science degree through Mount Royal University (MRU). His main interests in environmental issues are water conversation, remediation with reclamation, and waste management. Curtis was inspired to become an RCA Ambassador because he was keen on having a first-hand experience with waste management issues and current industry initiatives. He wanted to be a part of RCA for its expansive reach and influence in the world of recycling. For Curtis, his experience working as a Recycling Ambassador “was enlightening and very beneficial as I learned how to engage numerous powerful individuals with very different opinions and positions on recycling programs. It also highlighted the economic investment of environmental initiatives and how certain demographics were better suited to handle the stress of an additional waste diversion program. I enjoyed seeing some of the immediate changes in certain schools striving to become more environmentally friendly.”
Curtis at City of Lethbridge Canada Day event
Madelena Pederson-Macnab is currently working on her bachelor’s degree in Animal Science at the University of Alberta. Her focus is on sustainable agriculture and research regarding reducing food waste at the producer and consumer level, increasing production efficiency, and harvesting resources in a sustainable way. Madelena is passionate about reducing environmental impact through waste reduction, reuse, and recycling programs. For Madelena, her experience working for RCA “was packed with exciting chances to work on different projects, form relationships with important contacts in the industry, visit several areas of Alberta that I wouldn’t have had the chance to visit otherwise… My favourite project of the summer was the City of Red Deer composting project; it was exciting and interesting to work with a variety of residents with a passion for reducing their environmental impact”.
Madelena at Alberta Recycling Roundup
Natalya Garrod is studying Environmental Governance at Guelph University in Ontario. Water conservation is one of her many environmental and social interests. Natalya appreciates the ability to travel and work with diverse people in the environmental field and be part of environmental initiatives. For Natalya, working for RCA provided the opportunity to network with people in the waste and recycling field. “Networking with different members of the RCA has allowed me to further my education surrounding waste and recycling, given me insight into my future career decisions, and created new contacts for me back home.” … “The Roundups for Alberta Recycling taught me to be confident and present myself when talking with the public about recycling”.
Natalya at Lethbridge Sustainival event
If you have a project planned for next summer that could benefit from the help of the RCA’s Summer Ambassadors, contact Paulina Retamales at paulina@recycle.ab.ca or 780.405.1146 to discuss project costs and your requirements. Project duration can vary from one day to four months.
