The Ontario Heritage Trust’s Young Heritage Leaders program celebrates youth achievements in preserving, protecting and promoting local heritage. Since 2000, the Trust has worked with communities and schools to recognize over 3,720 young volunteers across Ontario for their activities to conserve built, cultural and natural heritage.

In 2007, the Lieutenant Governor's Ontario Heritage Award for Youth Achievement was established to recognize the most exceptional Young Heritage Leaders group nominees and the top individual nominee. Seven groups and three individuals have received the award.

Any resident of Ontario, 18 years old and under, who has made outstanding contributions to their local community in the area of built, cultural or natural heritage preservation is eligible for nomination.

Built heritage:

• hands-on voluntary work to restore or maintain a heritage structure (buildings, bridges, etc.)
• significant fundraising to support restoration of a historical building
• research or writing (books, walking tours, exhibits, websites) on heritage buildings

Cultural heritage:

• significant volunteer service to a museum or historic site
• research or writing (books, walking tours, exhibits, websites) related to local history
• sustained participation in historical re-enactments at local events
• significant voluntary participation on an archaeological dig
• collection of local artifacts, heritage photographs or memorabilia that are shared with the community
• volunteer work in preserving, restoring or re-creating a heritage garden based on historical research
• volunteer participation in activities or events that protect, preserve or promote First Nations, Métis, Franco-Ontarian heritage or others

Natural heritage:

• significant volunteer work at a conservation authority/area or parkland
• demonstrated leadership in the protecting natural heritage (endangered species habitats, rare Carolinian forests, wetlands, tall grass prairies, etc.)
• hands-on efforts to improve a natural heritage site
• research or writing (books, walking tours, exhibits, websites) related to local natural heritage resources

Nominations must be endorsed by the mayor, reeve, warden, regional chair, chief or council president (or delegate) of a municipal council, regional council, First Nation band council or Métis community council. School principals can also endorse nominations. Councils and principals can each submit one nomination for each of the three categories.

The Trust encourages community, youth and heritage organizations to contact their local council with proposed nominations. Teachers are encouraged to propose candidates for nomination to their school principal.

Endorsed nominations must be submitted using the program nomination form. The form is available in PDF format. Online submissions, supported by a mailed, faxed or scanned copy of the signed nomination form, are preferred.

The Ontario Heritage Trust and its program sponsors – Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life – will be rewarding the young person whose leadership in preserving, protecting and promoting heritage is deemed to be the most exceptional with a $2,000 scholarship. Every individual nominee will be considered for this scholarship to assist with future post-secondary education. The scholarship will be held in trust and will be paid to the recipient's post-secondary education institution of choice upon enrolment.

Students who are nominated as part of a project group are not eligible for the scholarship.

Both individual and group nominees will be considered for the Lieutenant Governor's Ontario Heritage Award for Youth Achievement. This award recognizes the most exceptional youth group in each of the built, cultural and natural heritage nomination categories, and the most outstanding individual nominee across all categories.

All Young Heritage Leaders nominations that meet the program criteria will be recognized.

The individual recipient of the Young Heritage Leaders scholarship and the Lieutenant Governor's Ontario Heritage Award will be selected from the pool of individual nominees submitted. Group recipients of the Lieutenant Governor's Ontario Heritage Award will be selected from the pool of group nominees submitted. These awards will be presented at the discretion of the Trust to the individual and groups whose efforts to preserve, protect and promote heritage are deemed to be the most exceptional.

The Trust will provide certificates and achievement pins for the recipients. It is the responsibility of the council/school to frame the certificates. Councils/principals must notify the Trust of local presentations. When possible, the Trust will send a representative to the community to make the presentation.

The nomination form is available in PDF format. Online submissions, supported by a mailed, faxed or scanned copy of the signed nomination form, are preferred.

Please send completed forms and supporting material to:

Young Heritage Leaders
Ontario Heritage Trust
Heritage Programs Branch
10 Adelaide Street East, Suite 302
Toronto, Ontario  M5C 1J3

• Nomination form

Additional information may be obtained by contacting the Ontario Heritage Trust at: