Six months after launching, The Narwhal won four Canadian Online Publishing Awards at a ceremony on Wednesday night in Toronto, including silver for best publication.

In the best news website category, The Narwhal also won silver, while Maclean’s won gold. The Narwhal’s website and brand was developed by Ictinus in Ottawa. HuffPost took the gold in the best publication category.

In the photo essay category, The Narwhal won gold for Garth Lenz’s work documenting B.C.’s mining boom along the Alaska border — which was made possible by donations from more than 100 readers.

The Narwhal also picked up silver in the photo essay category for an in-depth look at Giant Mine in the Northwest Territories by deputy editor Jimmy Thomson and photographer Matt Jacques.

Congratulations to all of the winners, but we’re saving the biggest applause of all for our readers and members who make our independent journalism possible. Thank you for reading, sharing and donating to support independent, investigative journalism.

Now more than ever we believe in the power of stories to inspire, educate and motivate us.

As traditional business models for news falter, The Narwhal is pioneering a non-profit model that puts the public interest first and relies on reader support. The Narwhal is an ad-free online news magazine with just three full-time staff.

More than 1,000 readers have donated to support The Narwhal’s independent journalism and 440 readers have become monthly members.

If you support independent, ad-free journalism please become a founding member of The Narwhal today.

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.