Previous Labatiuk Award Winners

2015 Winner

2014 Winners

Environmental Leadership

Trena MacGillivray

Trena has worked to ensure employees are able to easily take environmental actions themselves. When the new Animal Care & Control Centre first opened in 2010, Trena ensured the building was supplied with sufficient recycling bins and that all areas had access to them. She is also responsible for training new staff and maintains a no idling opinion by teaching new officers how to do their job without idling their vehicles. Trena goes above and beyond her required duties and roles as a peace officer, ensuring staff are informed about their environmental impacts. She has established a reputation within the department as a go-to person for questions on recycling. Her knowledge and motivation to make the city greener has inspired others.

Environmental Innovation

Street Lighting Team

The Street Lighting group has introduced a number of innovations to reduce emissions, including a Light Efficient Community Policy, approved by Council in August 2013, and associated policy report; LED street lighting, which began with a successful pilot project in 2009 and is now being implemented during neighbourhood renewal activities; and most recently, an adaptive lighting dimming project. The web-based system features the ability to control light levels at segments of roadways when the pedestrian activity changes; real-time notification of failures or power losses; and dimming of the luminaires to accommodate the geometry of the road, resulting in continuous light levels. Edmonton is the first Canadian city to pilot this technology.

Team includes: Vlado Cicovski, Ben Yarmuch, Gary Ursulak, Mike Rowell, Shawn Jacobs, Janusz Januszczak, Kevin Romans, Dhafir Hameed, Gord Cebryk

Continuous Environmental Improvement

Groat Road Basin End-of-Pipe Treatment Facility

The City was committed to reducing the amount of pollutants and TSS from the Groat Road outfall but due to the lack of space, was unable to construct a storm water treatment pond or other natural choice. The next, most logical choice is mechanical treatment. Construction of the Groat Road Basin End-of-Pipe Treatment Facility began in 2010 and has been in operation since 2011. It uses a series of filtering systems to trap particulates and absorb materials such as dissolved metals, hydrocarbons and nutrients. The filter system used is the leading technology in North America for use in “polishing” stormwater runoff and the first use of this technology in Alberta.

Team includes: Fayi Zhou, Wendy Laskosky, Liliana Malesevic, Arbind Mainali, Siri Fernando, Leonora Lumabi

2013 Winners

Environmental Leadership

Daniel Laubhann

Daniel shows extraordinary commitment and passion for environmental protection, taking on environmental protection in the most challenging setting – an urban municipality. He dedicates a significant portion of his work to managing invasive plant species which can negatively impact all functions of urban green space. He has worked on a number of key projects for the City including weed identification methods and a Smart Phone app to identify and report regulated weed species.

Environmental Innovation

Bill Covey & Sharon Swischook

Bill and Sharon set new standards for environmentally sustainable building on formerly City-owned properties. The new subdivision in Oxford was created with the goal of encouraging the construction of more energy-efficient, greener homes while creating a highly attractive but denser and more sustainable neighbourhood. The City also designed landscaping for Oxford’s public spaces that reflects the neighbourhood’s environmental theme.

Continuous Environmental Improvement

James McIvor – Muttart Conservatory

James McIvor's involvement in the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program, which uses biological controls such as predatory insects or bacterium to manage pest outbreaks, has been embraced by staff to better understand why pesticide usage can be harmful to the environment. With aim to continual improvement, James has purchased specialized grow tables to conserve potable water. The tables use a self contained watering system to capture excess water so none is lost on the floor surface. This equipment will enable fertilizer to be delivered by the system and eliminate nutrients entering the soil floor. The fabric floor covering eliminates weed growth under the tables and protects the soil environment from insect propagation and reduces the amount of pesticides used.

2012 Winners

Environmental Leadership

Erosion and Sediment Control Team
This team provides training to City employees about how construction and development can result in erosion and sedimentation which can be harmful to the environment. Since the team members began offering this training, there has been significant improvement in the monitoring of erosion and sediment on City construction projects.

Team includes: Christina Tatamiuk, Kristen Tappenden, Wanda Goulden

Environmental Innovation

Winter Roadway Maintenance Team
In recent years the winter maintenance program has been improved with the increasing use of recycled sand (taken from city street sweeping), the introduction of limestone chip to the mixture, improving mixing technology and reducing the amount of salt applied to city roads. The use of recycled sand reduces transportation costs and keeps street sweepings diverted from the landfill. Adding limestone chip into the sand-salt mix improves traction and makes the mixture more recyclable.

Continuous Environmental Improvement

Forestry Group
The forestry team has nursed Edmonton’s urban forests through years of drought and has created a number of new initiatives to preserve the health of Edmonton’s urban trees. New initiatives include testing watering systems for new trees, creating the Really Grate program to help downtown trees grow larger by improving their soil and growing conditions and conducting research on elm tree diseases to ensure that pruned branches from sick elm trees could be safely mixed into the Waste Management Centre’s wood chip-based compost.

Team includes: Jenny Wheeler, Dan Chouinard, Bonnie Fermanuik, Travis Kennedy, Megan Rogers, Mark Wartenbe, Bill Barr, Mario Castillo

Nation’s Leader Award (new)

Roy Neehall, Manager

Roy has been actively involved in waste management and environmental initiatives in the City for close to 30 years. His commitment to environmental stewardship and his innovative thinking helped make the City a Nation’s Leader in solid waste management.

2011 Winners

Environmental Leadership

Janice Dewar

Janice developed two drainage education programs that help teach citizens about the proper disposal of fats, oils and grease as well as other potentially harmful products. The Treat It Right® program is designed for school students while the Store It Don’t Pour It program is for adults.

Environmental Innovation

Aggregate Recycling Program Team
The team runs the City’s Aggregate Recycling Program which diverts 200,000 m³ of waste concrete and asphalt from construction projects away from landfills and grinds it into coarse aggregate that can be used in road and sidewalk construction.

Team includes: Blair Buccholtz, Al Marlowe, Mike Wuthrich, Dean Vick, George Carnegie, Darrell Schild, Doug Gilbert

Continuous Environmental Improvement

Vegetation Management Team
This team is responsible for controlling unwanted vegetation in City parks. Thanks to their environmental commitment, they have been able to substantially reduce the amount of City parkland treated with herbicide from a high of 50 per cent of City parks in 2000 to only 10 per cent today. The team also works closely with local groups to preserve native plants in City parklands.

Team includes: Gary Chan, Maurice Pelletier, Don Slobinyk, Jason Gross, Mark McNicholl, Tim Mulrooney, John Sowinski

2010 Winners

Environmental Leadership

Wendy Laskosky
Wendy helped develop, design and implement the internationally-recognized ISO 14001 environmental management program in Drainage Services.

Environmental Innovation

Carmen Linman
Carmen introduced the concept of green burials in city cemeteries.

Continuous Environmental Improvement

Greg Sorenson & Don Tymchak
Greg and Don created the measures to prevent or control leaks from the City’s fuel storage facilities.

2009 Winners

Environmental Leadership

Chris Saunders
Champion of new environmental programmes for Parks, including composting diseased tree/woody material and "doggy doo" waste; championed new and innovate ways of improving environmental performance; and promoted strong relations with various communities, including partnerships with government organizations and educational institutions.

Environmental Innovation

Water Re-Use Team

Recognized an opportunity to reuse swimming pool water that was currently being drained to the sanitary sewer; solved chemical and logistical challenges associated with using chlorinated swimming pool water; and implemented a strategy that offset the effects of drought, lowered the cost of irrigation and reduced the demand on the sanitary sewer system.

Team includes: Don Bilyea (Parks), John Dudka (Parks), Mark Farhat (Parks), Denis Hillier (Drainage Services), Chris Saunders (Parks), Kerry Sharkura (Recreation Facility Services).

Continuous Environmental Improvement

ETS@Work Team
Implemented the ETS@Work program that encourages corporations to support employees in using transit.

Team includes: Daniel Mulloy, Patricia Waisman, Nathan Walters, Dawn-Louise Wiens.

For More Information

City Environmental Strategies