Highway protest inspires Enactus project

Ten students from the University of Prince Edward Island are at a national conference to present a project inspired by protests over the realignment of a section of the Trans-Canada Highway.

The Enactus Canada conference encourages students to use entrepreneurship and environmental stewardship for social good. The UPEI team developed its idea during the realignment of the Trans-Canada Highway west of Charlottetown in 2013, and the associated protests regarding the cutting of old-growth forests.

The Enactus UPEI team launched a tree-planting project called Treeternity. It's planted about 500 trees so far.

"What we focus on is re-growth of the forest population focusing on a couple of different areas, including the big one and the one we're most proud of … the Plan B realignment highway," group spokesman Ronnie McPhee told CBC News.

"We partnered with the provincial government because we recognized two things: one, the social  outcry of the public around there, and they were very upset about it; and two, down to we lost a lot of forest so we want to replant and plus, building that relationship back with the people that might be upset about the realignment."

McPhee and his group will present the project, along with other award-winning projects from across the country. One will be chosen to represent Canada at the Enactus Worlds in October.