The Maple Ridge Climate Hub was at the Nov. 4 of city council to present the city with one of its Climate Champion Awards for 2025.
Hub vice-president James Rowley spoke on behalf of the non-profit group, which is part of a national network educating the public about climate change.
Each Year at its Earth Day celebrations, since 2022, the group offers its Climate Champion awards to individuals, businesses and organizations who lead in the fight against global warming.
This year’s winners included Mayor Dan Ruimy and the City of Maple Ridge council and staff, who were recognized for their leadership in addressing climate change with actions such as creating the Mayor’s Task Force on Climate Action, unanimously voting to implement the Zero Carbon Step Code, and developing the city’s first Climate Action Plan, which is titled Resilient Future 2050.
“We celebrate your leadership addressing climate change since 2022,” said Rowley. “These are significant accomplishments in the fight against climate change.”
Mayor Dan Ruimy said city hall staff deserve much of the credit for the work being done.
“It takes a village to clean up a village,” said Ruimy.
Another winner was Agneta Eikelenboom, who builds sustainability into many areas of her life, from ensuring food is not wasted, and using a bike and EV to get around, to starting a Christmas tree farm with live trees that can continue to grow after the holiday season.
And Fraser Valley Addictions and Recovery Hub was acknowledged for making sustainability a core value — whether that be restoring homes to reduce waste and preserve housing, cleaning up streets through their peer reintegration program, or recovering surplus food to support those in need.