A local hero in the town of Hawkesbury, Ontario
Every town needs one. But not every town has one. A local person who takes on an initiative because he or she cares about the community where they live. The little town of Hawkesbury, Ontario has a guy who goes by the name, Gilles. He is a teacher and has been dubbed the ‘go to guy’ for all things green. He even started a green clean up club at his school which inspires kids to reduce, reuse and lastly, recycle their pop cans, cups, and other recyclable materials. Over the last 5 years he has planted tress, cleaned up streams and started the whole school composting their lunch time waste. Before starting the program, he used to run around the school yard with his dog in his spare time to pick up recyclable items that had been littered.
One guy with a desire to clean up his area of influence, has started a whole revolution within the institution where he teaches. Even some of the other teachers who thought he was crazy, have now become his greatest allies in his quest to get teachers to use both sides when printing and re-use old paper for other printing needs. He has some lofty goals to planet even more native trees to create shade areas for students as well as taking the stream which runs through the property, back to its original plant species along the shore.
We had the pleasure of meeting and running with Gilles and his wife, Kathleen as we entered the Township of Hawkesbury, and to witness a first hand account of what one person can do when they decide to make a difference and take action.
Gilles and Kathleen helped organized an impromptu meeting with the Mayor Jeanne Charlebois, and other City officials and members of the press. We even planted 2 plum trees in honor of R41P coming through Hawkesbury. These newly planted set of plum trees will grow and serve as a Legacy, under the watchful and attentive care from local ‘Hawkesburian’, Gilles.
Thanks for showing us Gilles, that every one action someone takes has a powerful force to inspire action in others. We really enjoyed meeting the rest of your family too. V’s newest best friends, Zoe and Sophie, and Cass, the wonder dog, gave us some laughs shaking hands and doing what dogs do best….beg for food As our last stop after two months in Ontario, right on the border of Quebec. Keep in action, and keep in touch!
What could Gilles inspire you to do in your life?
Bonjour you two!
Hope everything is going well and once again thanks for what you are doing!
Jeanne
Comment by Jeanne Charlebois — Tuesday, November 4, 2008 @ 12:33 pm