.:SEIMA MEDIA RELEASE - JANUARY 11, 2010

January 11, 2010 – Saskatoon SK

The 2010 Environmental Industry Leadership Award, hosted by the Saskatchewan Environmental Industry and Managers Association (SEIMA), has been presented to the Chief Executive Officer of a dynamic Saskatchewan-based international development organization. The award was presented on Monday at the SEIMA 2010 Business Expo and Trade Show at the Radisson Hotel Saskatoon.

The recipient is Rodney Sidloski, CEO and founder of HELP International, who has been actively involved in international environmental, agricultural and infrastructure projects for most of his career. 

Sidloski worked with the United Nations and CARE in challenged countries such as Sudan and Mozambique, and set up a national HELP office in Kenya for forestry, waste management and slum conversion programs.  Sidloski’s current focus for HELP International covers two areas. HELP mobilizes and works with municipalities and landowners in environmental protection strategies. Secondly, Sidloski led HELP in setting up CERT, the Center for Ecology Research and Training, which works with interns from several European and African countries and across Canada in environmental research for low cost phytoremediation, waste recycling technologies, and drought resistant high production horticulture. CERT is also home to a simulated African Village where schools from across Saskatchewan come to live and train with the international internship group. 

Sidloski was thrilled with receiving the award, “The award is of even greater value because the election is by prominent SEIMA members and directors that represent serious peers in the environmental industry. It means a very great deal to HELP.”

HELP was the first operation in Saskatchewan to recycle Styrofoam, which it does in support of its Zero Waste Community Management Model.  In collaboration with Stewart Steel HELP recently designed and fabricated a motorized paper mill for small-scale fiberboard and hand made paper production.  HELP accepts wood products, as well as leaves and grass clippings for composting in Weyburn, which it then uses to create nursery soils in tree production for river bank tree plantings. Among other commissioned projects, HELP works with municipalities on salinity control of lagoons through tree planting, develops forest caps on decommissioned landfills and sets up woodlots for effluent irrigation.

With headquarters in Regina, SEIMA is a provincial not-for-profit, member-based industry association representing environmental businesses and practitioners in Saskatchewan.  Part of its mission is to undertake advisory, advocacy and educational roles to promote responsible environmental management.