We are thrilled to announce that the winner of the Jo Ann Green Environmental Award for 2015 is Tosh Harvey.

Congratulations to Tosh who at 14 is the youngest ever winner of the award. The award recognizes a Cortes Islander who has made significant contributions to the environmental well being of the community.

Here is Tosh's nomination:

At fourteen years of age, Tosh Harvey epitomizes the qualities of a true child of Cortes wild. Tosh lives and breathes Cortes nature through all the pores of his very active body.

Tosh has long held a natural and deep affinity for the natural world as a child, and now, as a youth, he has amassed an extensive knowledge base of plants and animals, much of this self-motivated and self-taught.

Since the fall of 2014, Tosh has been a core explorer and leader on monthly walks into the Children’s Forest, where he shows natural leadership with other youth. sharing his knowledge and passion for native plants. He is ever mindful of group safety and watchful over the well-being of individual youth.

In the spring of 2015, Tosh travelled to the Sunshine Coast to participate in an outdoor education workshop for youth, where he presented a session on edible wild plants.

Tosh also completed an interpretative training on Cortes to develop foundational skills in interpreting the natural world for the public, and following this, over the summer, he led 5 interpretative walks from the Gorge Marina into the Whaletown Commons. In August, Tosh was invited to participate in a workshop on survival skills at Channel Rock, where he was invited to lead a session.

Tosh’s passion and knowledge is an inspiration to all of us, but he is especially significant as a role model for other Cortes youth. Tosh stands out as a leader within a group of young people on Cortes deeply connected to the Earth and willing to act on her behalf.