Raptor Nest Cards
Beaverhill Bird Observatory
Provincial project

Grant: $7,150

A neglected Alberta Government project to monitor raptor nests will be revived by Bird Studies Canada (BSC). For years, volunteer bird watchers have been filling out cards with data on the nest locations and breeding success of birds of prey. BSC will compile and analyze the data to gain some useful information on trends in habitat use, productivity, and timing of nesting. They will also make the data compatible with other regional and national nest card schemes. The results will be useful for assessing the status of various raptor species and for guiding management.

Recycling Education, Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement
Buffalo Lake

Grant: $2000

With the implementation of a new recycling system in the settlement, the Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement will help educate community members about the waste minimization system. This will include developing some educational materials, writing articles for the weekly newsletter and giving public presentations regarding the new system. Recycling typically diverts about 35-40% of waste from landfill.  The Settlement hopes that public awareness and use of their new recycling trailer will help make citizens more conscious of the waste they generate, as well as increase the lifespan of their landfill site.

Renewing the Sacred Balance
Calgary Inter-Faith Community Action Association
Calgary

Grant: $10,000

You don’t have to be an environmentalist to be concerned about the impact humans are having on the planet. All faiths define a stewardship role for humanity, and the Calgary Inter-faith Community Action Association will provide opportunities for individuals to commit to adopting more sustainable ways of living. The program will utilize resources created by the Faith and the Common Good organization and the David Suzuki Foundation, providing a series of inter-faith workshops that use a “train-the-trainer” approach, so individuals can provide the workshops within their own communities after attending the Inter-faith sessions. A website will also allow people to register their commitments to the Nature Challenge, as outlined by the David Suzuki Foundation.

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Natural Step to a Sustainable Canmore
Canmore Economic Development Authority
Canmore

Grant: $9,400

Given its location on a limited land base surrounded by protected areas, and the rapid population growth predicted for the next 10-15 years, it is important that Canmore incorporate some sustainability practices. The Natural Step is a holistic, systems-based approach to sustainability planning developed in Sweden that has been successfully applied in corporations and communities in nine different countries (www.naturalstep.ca), including an award-winning project in Whistler, B.C.

The Natural Step has developed and tested an approach to help communities incorporate sustainability into their business strategies and to produce measurable results. The Canmore Economic Development Authority will hire a coordinator to pilot this project in Canmore, engaging the municipality, local businesses, organizations and private citizens in the Natural Step Framework. After a successful implementation of the framework in Canmore, the Natural Step will replicate the program in other communities in Alberta, and throughout Canada.

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School Ground Naturalization
Cedarbrae School Council Association
Calgary

Grant: $5000

Through the naturalization of the grounds of this elementary school, students will gain an increased interest, awareness and knowledge of the natural environment. The outdoor classroom will not only enhance learning, but will also encourage a commitment to the protection and preservation of the environment. Environmental stewardship messages will be delivered through the naturalization program, thereby enhancing the children’s physical, emotional and spiritual lives. 

Update of the Atlas for Breeding Birds of Alberta
Federation of Alberta Naturalists
Provincial Project

Grant: $10,000

The Bird Atlas is a comprehensive program that assembles valuable information on bird distribution and abundance and indicates changes over time. This is part of a long-term project that will culminate in the production of a revised Atlas in 2006. This information is useful for resource managers, conservation and assessment biologists and research scientists. The data and maps are also of interest to Alberta’s naturalist community. Data are collected by volunteers and consequently, remote areas of the province are seldom surveyed.

Alberta Ecotrust funds will allow a project coordinator to coordinate, support, and place Bird Atlas volunteers in remote areas of the province, allowing for more complete distribution maps and documentation of rare species, or species with limited distributions. Because of the well-organized volunteer program and the excellent products created with the data, this project will also increase public awareness and understanding of Alberta’s bird species. 

School Ground Naturalization
Friends of Bearspaw Education Society
M.D. of Rocky View

Grant: $5000

Bearspaw School opened just a few years ago and does not yet have a play area. The Parent Group has created an innovative design that integrates creative play areas with a large naturalized site. This novel project is the first of this kind in the Municipal District of Rocky View and it will be a model for all future active natural areas within the Division. The project includes natural seating areas, learning locations, a bird feeding site and composting stations, all set amongst native shrubs and grasslands.  

The Lethbridge Naturalists Society will coordinate a project to collect data on the occurrences of rare plants, surveying sites in the Castle area that have received little attention or have not been surveyed in the past.  Most of the truly rare plants found in southern Alberta occur only in the Waterton/Castle area. The area is particularly rich floristically because of its overlapping ecosystems stretching from high alpine meadows to the Foothills Grasslands ecoregion.

Mist maiden

Inventories of rare plants contribute significantly to the knowledge of biological diversity, and rare plants are good indicator species, helping to measure the effectiveness of management programs in sensitive ecosystems. Data will be permanently recorded in the Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre, accessible to all Albertans via the Internet. Information on rare plants will also be submitted to the Alberta “Species at Risk” program and will be used to revise the valuable “Flora of Alberta” guidebook by E.H. Moss. Students of botany and other interested individuals will be invited to participate in the rare plant searches, and results of the survey will be presented to interested groups, providing opportunities for people to learn about sensitive ecosystems and the importance of preserving biological diversity.

Xeriscape Naturalization Project
Oldman River Basin Water Quality Initiative
Lethbridge

Grant: $3,300

Switch Out: Provincial Mercury Capture Program
Recycling Council of Alberta
Provincial project

Grant: $20,000

In partnership with the Recycling Council of Alberta, the national Clean Air Foundation will implement a mercury switch collection program to prevent mercury contamination of landfills. Mercury represents a potent toxin in the environment that is harmful to both humans and wildlife. In fact, one gram of mercury can contaminate a 20-acre lake, leaving fish unfit for consumption for one year. The largest source of mercury emissions from consumer goods in Canada is vehicle recycling. In cars, mercury is mainly found in switches used in convenience lighting (to control interior lights) and in anti-lock braking systems.

Switch Out hopes to capture 10,000 switches (8kg of mercury) from the waste stream in the first year of the program by collecting switches from auto recyclers and raising awareness in the industry by working with the Alberta Automotive Recyclers and Dismantlers Association.

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Raptor Migration
Rocky Mountain Eagle Research Foundation
Regional Project

Grant: $15,000

In 1992 researcher Peter Sherrington documented vast numbers of Golden Eagles migrating along the front slopes of the Rockies. Since that time dedicated volunteers have been monitoring the raptors that migrate along these   “flyways” each spring and fall, counting over 93,000 migrant birds of prey, of which 77,500 have been Golden Eagles. The principle study site, near Mt. Lorette in Kananaskis Country, has provided a unique opportunity to conduct a systematic migratory raptor count for both the spring and fall migrations. As Golden Eagles are top avian predators in both their breeding and wintering ranges, studying the changes in their abundance and in their population structure is yielding important information about the health of these ecosystems, and even about climate change.

In addition to fieldwork, the newly formed RMERF will continue their community-based public education, with events such as the Canmore Eagle Festival that allow the public to learn about and witness this inspiring phenomenon. They will also update their website and will increase involvement opportunities for participants who have already indicated their interest and enthusiasm for this project.

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Community Action Toward Water Quality
Safe Drinking Water Foundation
Provincial Project

Grant: $10,000

Drinking water in First Nations communities rarely meets the international standards that other Alberta communities are adopting. The Safe Drinking Water Foundation will adapt the popular Operation Water Drop program they have been delivering in rural schools to be suitable for implementation by native communities, involving youths, adults and Elders. Based on a successful water purification effort in a native community in Saskatchewan, this hands-on education program examines water contamination, describes ways to protect drinking water sources, and teaches how to treat compromised water sources with environmentally friendly techniques. A partnership with the First Nations water and wastewater operators training program (Technical Services Advisory Group Circuit Rider program) will ensure that action plans are implemented across First Nation Communities within each of the three treaty areas in the province of Alberta. 

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Environmental Science-In-A-Crate
Science Alberta Foundation
Provincial Project

Grant: $15,000

Science Alberta Foundation has developed an outstanding environmental education resource in the form of trunk-sized boxes of amazing hands-on, minds-on interactive activities designed to lead children, youth and families to explore issues ranging from wetland ecosystems to pollution to human impact on the environment. Alberta Ecotrust’s grant will allow the group to replicate the Enviro-files II crate, thus reaching more urban, rural and remote communities.  The Science-In-A-Crates will be distributed to schools, libraries, museums, interpretive centres and community organizations, providing experiential learning experiences with results that are extensive and enduring. 

Suburban Sprawl Primer
Sierra Club of Canada, Chinook Group
Calgary

Grant: $17,750

Suburban Sprawl is a problem in Calgary that dare not be named. By definition, sprawl is characterized by three common factors: low density development patterns, an automobile dependent society, and strict segregation of land use. While Calgarians are unhappy with the problems associated with growth, there is no broad recognition of the source of the ills. This project aims to develop an understanding of Suburban Sprawl within Calgary, and will begin to elicit dialogue between Calgarians about developing and growing the city in a sustainable manner.

The benefits of addressing Suburban Sprawl are many: improved health of citizens, stronger community spirit, and a decreased environmental impact within city limits and beyond. The Sierra Club will develop a brochure and a website to illustrate and educate, and will deliver community workshops. In this manner, they will be able to effectively communicate with a broad segment of the population.