A winning logo, chosen from approximately 280 entries from students around Lake Winnipeg, will provide a strong visual identity to lake-friendly, environmentally sound products, Water Stewardship Minister Christine Melnick announced.
The new logo will heighten the profile of consumer products offered for sale in local communities that are friendly to Manitoba’s lakes and rivers including Lake Winnipeg, Melnick said.
“Involving students who are closely associated with Lake Winnipeg strengthens the link between responsible consumer choices and the environmental legacy that we build for our future,” said Melnick. “Identifying products as lake friendly attracts consumers looking for ways to help reduce adverse environmental impacts to our lakes and rivers through their purchasing choices.”
Jakob McDonald, a Grade 5 student from East Selkirk Middle School in the RM of St. Clements, won the logo contest. His prize includes $500, a mounted copy of his winning artwork and a trip on the Namao, the Lake Winnipeg Research vessel. McDonald’s school also received a $500 prize.
The logo contest was overseen by the reeves and mayors from communities and municipalities surrounding the south basin of Lake Winnipeg and received provincial support.
“The mayors and reeves on this committee are very committed to the success of this initiative,” said Tammy Axelsson, chair of the South Basin Mayor and Reeves’ Committee and mayor of the RM of Gimli. “It is extremely gratifying to see the project come to fruition. The Lake Friendly Campaign identifies products that are the best environmental choice for our lakes and rivers. We are pleased local retailers are very supportive of this initiative as they will be a key to the success of the campaign. The local retailers are committed to stocking lake-friendly items offering consumers a choice and consumers are encouraged to look for these products where they shop.”
The South Basin Mayor and Reeves’ Committee is comprised of:
• Tammy Axelsson, chair and mayor of the RM of Gimli;
• Don Forfar, reeve of the RM of St. Andrews;
• Don Pepe, mayor of the Town of Winnipeg Beach;
• Rick Gamble, mayor of the Village of Dunnottar;
• David Bell, mayor of the City of Selkirk;
• Steve Strang, mayor of the RM of St. Clements;
• Bill McDonald, reeve of the RM of Victoria Beach;
• Harold Foster, reeve of the RM of Bifrost; and
• George Harbottle, reeve of the RM of Alexander.
Lake-friendly products provide consumers with a high level of assurance the products are the best environmental choice, the minister said. The criteria for establishing lake-friendly products is based on the certification of Environment Canada’s EcoLogo. EcoLogo identifies the overall environmental preference of a product:
• it is a method to certify and label environmental performance at a national level and follows internationally recognized standards;
• it is awarded by an independent, impartial third party;
• it eliminates the confusion of claims made by manufacturers who apply ‘green’ labels in the absence of credible comparative testing; and
• it provides consumers with the highest level of assurance that products with eco-labels are the best environmental choice.
The reeves and mayors from communities and municipalities surrounding the south basin together with the province of Manitoba have been working to help restore the health Lake Winnipeg, the world’s 10th largest freshwater lake.
The province recently introduced first-in-Canada legislation to virtually eliminate phosphorus content in dishwasher detergent and has restricted the use of lawn fertilizers containing phosphorus in residential areas. These actions will reduce the amount of nutrients and other harmful chemicals entering Manitoba’s lake and rivers.
More information about lake-friendly products including a list of retailers can be found at www.lakefriendly.ca.
