To kick-off to the annual Canon Envirothon, one of North America’s largest high school environmental competitions, High Road worked with Canon Canada and Harris/Decima to release a new survey on teens’ interest and knowledge of green jobs.  The research revealed that 56 per cent of Canadian teens are interested in a career in the environment, but close to the same amount (51 per cent) aren’t clear on the career opportunities available to them. Also interesting to see is that 68 per cent of Canadian teens believe jobs in the environmental sector are increasing, yet the don’t feel they know enough about the types of jobs available. In fact, 88 per cent agree that more access to information about environmental jobs is needed.

 Some other interesting results from the survey included:

• 85 per cent of teens surveyed had started to seriously think about their career path already, including 67 per cent of grade nine students
• 51 per cent consider job availability when choosing a future career path
• Of those who are interested in an environmental career, 69 per cent cite making the world a better place as the reason  
• One third (35%) of Canadian teens learn about possible career paths from their extra-curricular activities
• 77 per cent agree that participating in environmental extracurricular activities would help with their decision about whether to pursue a green career

The results speak to the importance of engaging students in extra-curricular activities within the environmental sector like the Canon Envirothon, which successfully opens students’ eyes to the range of green career opportunities as well as introduces them to network of professionals working in the field – i.e. environmental engineers, natural resource managers, environmental policy makers and more.

 This year, the Canon Envirothon was held in Sackville, NB and brought together more than 250 green teens from across Canada and the United States from July 24 to 29.

The first-place winners, Swan Valley Regional Secondary School team, received a total of $25,000 in Canon scholarships.  West Hill Secondary School, Owen Sound, Ontario ($20,000), and Spartanburg High School, South Carolina ($15,000), placed second and third, respectively. The fourth-place team, Oromocto High School, Oromocto, New Brunswick, received $10,000, and the fifth-place team, Housatonic Valley Agriscience, Connecticut, received $7,500. Teams that placed first through tenth received Canon products for their advisors and sponsoring agencies/organizations to use in science education.

 The top 10 teams at the 2011 Canon Envirothon:

1. Swan Valley Regional Secondary School, Swan Valley, Manitoba
2. West Hill Secondary School, Owen Sound, Ontario
3. Spartanburg High School, Spartanburg, South Carolina
4. Oromocto High School, Oromocto, New Brunswick
5. Housatonic Valley Agriscience, Falls Village, Connecticut
6. West Johnston High School, Benson, North Carolina
7. Fort Defiance High School, Fort Defiance, Virginia
8. Middleton High School, Middleton, Wisconsin
9. Jupiter High School, Jupiter, Florida
10. The Wheeler School, Providence, Rhode Island

This month Canon Canada’s Medical Systems Division and ophthalmologist Dr.Ben Szirth collaborated to host a diabetes retinopathy detection clinic at Toronto high school, Sir Sandford Fleming Academy. Dr. Szirth estimates that almost half of Canadians with diabetes aren’t aware they have the disease, making them susceptible to complications, including vision loss.

Held two days before International Diabetes Day, the clinic’s message of healthy lifestyle choices to help prevent diabetes and potential damage to the eyes associated with undiagnosed or untreated diabetes resonated with students and media alike.

In the early hours of the morning, Dr Szirth and the Canon MX-1 (retinal scanning camera) were featured on Canada AM.  The segment included a demonstration scan of host Seamus O’Regan’s eyes and a good discussion on the prevalence of diabetes among young Canadians.

Soon after, Dr Szirth, nutritionist Dr Jody Toyonaga, and a small medical team took their message of awareness and prevention to the school. By the end of the day, 90 students were taught the importance of a healthy lifestyle while their eyes were tested for signs of diabetes retinopathy and other vision-related diseases.

In addition to the Canada AM segment, Global Toronto, CBC radio, and The Toronto Sun all featured stories on the clinic, which helped generate awareness for diabetes and related illnesses and ended with one student being awarded a Canon PowerShot A3100. Canon also presented the school with a gift of two video cameras for the school’s film class.

 All in all, a great event, with a great message. Kudos to Canon!

For the fifth installment of Canon Canada’s Other Side program, High Road worked with celebrity chefs including Michael Smith  (Food Network’s Chef at Home/Chef Abroad), Susur Lee (LEE and Madeline’s), Mark McEwan (North 44 and Bymark) and Brad Long (Veritas) to create the “Food For Thought” photo exhibit.

Held the week before Thanksgiving, the chefs donated their creativity by capturing personal photos that embodied the theme “Food for Thought.” In turn, Canon Canada donated $25,000 on behalf of the chefs to Food Banks Canada, which was presented at a private media event at Veritas Restaurant in Toronto.

The response was superb, with the media intrigued with the concept of the chefs’ photography, and engaged in Canon Canada’s philanthropic efforts so close to the Thanksgiving season.