Micah Messent devoted his flourishing career to protecting the world’s oceans and sharing Indigenous teaching, a new award in his memory will recognize other young people who follow in his footsteps.
The Canadian Parks Council will present the Micah Messent Young Professional Award of Excellence each year in honour of the 23-year-old who died in the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 in March.
Raised in Courtenay, Messent was BC Parks employee who was travelling to Kenya to take part in the United Nations Environment Assembly. He was one of one of 18 Canadians to die in the crash.
“Micah was proud to come from a family with a rich history of working and spending time in national parks and taking care of our natural environment,” said Micah’s family in a statement.
“We appreciate there will be an award in Micah’s name that recognizes the positive impact he made in his young life.”
The award will recognize a person between the ages of 18-30 within the Canadian Parks Council family who has shown leadership in managing protected areas and a commitment to environmental stewardship and conservation awareness, youth leadership, and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
BC Parks, through the Park Enhancement Fund, is creating an endowment of $20,000 that will be used to fund the award annually.
“Micah was a bright light in the BC Parks family who left an impression on those he worked with in a short amount of time,” said George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy.
The award was announced at the Canadian Parks Council’s Annual General Meeting in Quebec on Oct. 7, 2019.
Messent was killed when a Boeing 737 Max 8 jetliner crashed near Bishoftu, south of Addis Ababa, shortly after takeoff, killing all 157 people on board.
CHEK News
