The 2007 recipient of Kawartha Lake's Environmental Hero of the Year award is none other than Project Porchlight volunteer, retired Reverend David Reeve.
Members of the City of Kawartha Lakes Environmental Advisory Committee (CKLEAC) recommend recipients of the annual award, which was established in 2004. Rev. Reeve was officially named the 2007 recipient on July 15th, 2008. "The award came to me because of my environmental interest and actions," he says.
In 2007, Rev. Reeve became increasingly concerned about air pollution and the use of fossil fuels. So he decided to do something about it. He formed the Environmental Action Committee through his church, Trinity United - which also happens to be where his son Allan currently serves as minister.
"A group of seven of us began to meet last year in April," says Rev. Reeve. He had read that the government of Ontario ordered a ban on the sale of incandescent bulbs by 2012. With that in mind, the committee decided to start out simple: by promoting the use of CFLs.
"(CFLs) reduce the consumption of electricity and give a good light. They last longer than incandescent light bulbs," says Rev. Reeve. "(Making the switch) saves money for the user on their electrical bill and it saves the environment."
In September 2007, the Environmental Action Committee booked a table at the annual agricultural fair in Bobcaygeon and arranged for a local hardware store to provide CFLs for display. The committee members handed out coupons for the bulbs and provided information on energy efficiency and the importance of converting to compact fluorescents.
From there, the project took on a life of its own. Rev. Reeve was in close contact with Faith and the Common Good, an organization his son Ted had founded years ago. When Faith and the Common Good's Peterborough representative, Stephen Collette, learned what Rev. Reeve was up to, he called him and said: "I think I can get you CFLs." "I said, 'Well, that'd be great!'" recalls Rev. Reeve.
The source for these free CFLs? Project Porchlight. Rev. Reeve got in touch with the campaign's Peterborough staff members who arranged to provide 2,500 CFLs for distribution throughout Bobcaygeon. With the bulbs in hand, Rev. Reeve rounded up 40 volunteers to deliver the bulbs, including members of the Trinity United Church congregation, as well as local students and other residents interested in helping out.
At 9:30am on Saturday, November 3, the group met in front of the church and made short work of the bulb blitz. Within a matter of hours, all 2,500 bulbs had been delivered throughout Bobcaygeon. "We heard later that that was the largest distribution of light bulbs in any given community up to that time by Project Porchlight," says Rev. Reeve.
Thanks to his tremendous efforts, Rev. Reeve is now the fourth recipient of the City of Kawartha Lakes Environmental Hero of the Year Award. But he feels he has his own thanks to give for the recognition he's received. "I don't think I would have gotten this award without Project Porchlight being the background developer," he says. "I admire the one man who thought up the idea of giving away these light bulbs to create interest… I'm just very congratulatory to the whole project."
The award isn't the only thing Rev. Reeve is celebrating these days. 2008 also marks his 50th anniversary as an ordained minister, and his 80th year of life. But don't expect this retiree to kick back and rest on his laurels. After spending a few months in Florida this winter, Rev. Reeve returned to Kawartha Lakes and resumed his role on the Environmental Action Committee, "this time to tackle the matter of the misuse of water." He and the committee will focus on reducing the use of bottled water, and breathing new life into an abandoned hydroelectric power project in Bobcaygeon.
Here's to Rev. Reeve's continued success. He's truly making the world a better place to live, one change at a time.
