Niagara River Greenway presents Environmental Ambassador Summit

By Madeline Dorobiala

The Niagara River Greenway Commission organized its fourth annual Environmental Ambassador Summit on Tuesday. Linde hosted the event.

In 2015, the Tonawanda Coke Environmental Benefit Project reached a settlement with New York state, which contributed to sustaining the Tonawanda area. From there, Niagara River Greenway was qualified to receive financial support and applied for a grant. Having received the grant, Niagara River Greenway organized the summit, which had limited attendance from the Tonawandas, Kenmore, Grand Island and North Buffalo at the time.

After a couple of years, Linde got involved through the help of Michelle Lockett, community engagement director at Niagara River Greenway; and Bradley Damstedt, senior technology expert at Linde. Linde has continued to provide financial support and a venue, collaborating with Niagara River Greenway.

“Community is one of Linde’s core values,” said Erin Collins, senior communications manager. “And any time we have the opportunity to introduce who we are and what we do to students, it’s a great thing.”

Students brought premade environmental projects and proposals to present to judges including Erin Redding, a Niagara River habitat specialist; and other environmental professionals. In addition to critiquing at the event, the judges received the written reports in advance, which assisted with their overall review.

At the beginning of the summit, students had the opportunity to speak with seven environmental organizations, including New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Rotating through stations, students had the chance to ask questions and even earn raffle tickets for a chance to win prizes.

“It’s a good time to start to learn about these things as they’re preparing for college, looking into a career,” said Hannah Rola of State Parks. “It hopefully encourages people to go into the environmental field.”

Hannah Rola and Emily Miller from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation present to students.

Deputy Erie County Executive Lisa Chimera speaks to students.

Linde’s “Steam Team” conducts a liquid nitrogen experiment.

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The event continued with lunch and talks given by guest speakers including Deputy Erie County Executive Lisa Chimera and Robbyn Drake from Ecos Cooperative. The talks informed students about the speakers’ experiences in their careers and encouragement to pursue their own interests in supporting the environment.

Before her talk, Chimera spoke with the press.

“Everyone needs to be concerned with global warming and climate,” she said.

Students continued networking while others presented their projects to additional organizations. Some tables run by organizations provided hands-on experiences, including a liquid nitrogen demonstration hosted by Linde’s “Steam Team.”

Seven schools participated in the event, including Nichols, Niagara Wheatfield, Big Picture, McKinley, Niagara Falls, North Tonawanda and Riverside. Some schools had two teams presenting projects, which ranged from boxes for bees to homes for bats.

“I’ve had so many accounts of students coming back saying how much they enjoyed it (Environmental Ambassador Summit), how much they learned,” Lockett said. “Some of them are literally going on into careers, taking college classes in environmental studies.”

Niagara Wheatfield won first place with its “BatMansion” project, which highlighted the importance of protecting the species. Niagara Falls came in second place and presented a box that can be used for the conservation of pollinators. The second team from Niagara Wheatfield came in third place with its project that focused on biodiversity expansion using elderberry plants.

The winners received a cash prize to help bring their projects to fruition.

The Niagara Wheatfield “BatMansion” team focused on awareness and protection of bats. It took home first prize. Under the direction of teachers Don Szatkowski and Pete Cerny, students Dylan Jones, Paige Shiffert, Emma Davidson, Liliana Sequin, Zach Berwaldt, Trae Moore, Aiden Huff, Eric Yusif, Lilly Bennet and Nolan Burnhard will naturally remove invasive bugs by providing homes for bats and teaching their community the importance of bats through signage and instructions on how to build a bat house. (Images courtesy of the Niagara River Greenway Commission)