Two NWT students have become the first recipients of a new memorial scholarship.
The Adam Yeadon Memorial Scholarship is given out to students who are pursuing a greater education in the forestry industry, or in wildfire management. This Scholarship was first established in 2023 to commemorate the memory of Adam Yeadon, who lost his life while fighting against last year’s wildfires.
The two recipients are Alfred “AJ” Lawrence, and Mackenzie McDonald. They will each be receiving $5,000 to support their studies in their chosen forestry fields.
Lawrence was raised in Yellowknife and graduated from Sir John Franklin High School. He is currently studying forestry at Vancouver Island University. He worked in the NWT during the 2023 wildfires, helping with preparedness, training, and responses. He most commonly served as a Fire Technician with several crews in the North Slave region. He is planning on continuing his work in wildfire management for as long as possible before moving on to forestry management, where he will then work to help revitalize forests in the NWT.
McDonald is studying at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, and returns to the Norther every summer to help fight wildfires. Throughout this past summer, she was deployed to fight fires in every region across the NWT. She plans on using her education to open new career paths in forestry, while continuing her yearly tradition of returning to the NWT to fight fires.
Jay MacDonald, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, said in a statement that he is “proud to support the next generation of forestry professionals in the Northwest Territories through this scholarship, honoring Adam Yeadon legacy. I wish AJ and Mackenzie all the best in their studies and have full confidence in their ability to achieve their goals. Their dedication to wildfire management and the protection of NWT communities is truly commendable and deeply appreciated.”
