Nicola Kroetch of Maple Ridge is one of the winners of the Pacific Salmon Foundation's annual Stewardship Bursary Program.
"It's important that young people get the support they need for a well-rounded educational experience, which is where our Stewardship Community Bursary program comes in," said Dr. Brian Riddell, president and CEO of the Pacific Salmon Foundation.
The program provides cash awards to post-secondary students currently enrolled in their second year or later of a salmon conservation or aquatic stewardship program of study. Applicants must demonstrate volunteer experience in environmental stewardship.
Kroetch is currently attending Simon Fraser University.
The foundation awarded a total of $19,000 to fourteen post-secondary students in British Columbia.
The number of students and total amount awarded was the largest in the program's history.
Since 2005, the bursary program has awarded almost $88,000 to 67 students entering environmental fields.
"Volunteers are a critical component of salmon recovery in British Columbia," added Dr. Riddell. "Often-times, student volunteers bring new science and conservation methods learned in the classroom to the programs they volunteer for outside the classroom."
The bursaries are made possible through fundraising by the Pacific Salmon Foundation, including a major donation made in 2016 by TransCanada Corporation.
• Donors can support student bursaries with tax-deductible donations to the Pacific Salmon Foundation on-line at psf.ca, by phone at 604-664-7664.