Grants Program Update
Capacity Corner: Volunteer Resource Management: A special offer; Links to Volunteer Management Resources; and Volunteer Opportunities with Alberta Ecotrust Environmental Partners
Environmental Priority Issue: Wilderness and Habitat
Announcements: Alberta Ecotrek; Comings and Goings; Ecohome Update; Emerald Awards: ATCO Gas and Electric BBQ Supports Alberta Ecotrust

Alberta Ecotrust is the leader in building partnerships to create sustainable environmental benefits in our community.

Alberta Ecotrust Partners

Alberta Wilderness Association

Anadarko Canada Corporation

ATCO Group

BP Canada Energy Company

Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society

EnCana Corporation

ExxonMobil Canada Ltd.

Federation of Alberta Naturalists

Global Environmental & Outdoor Education Council

Newalta Corporation

Nexen Inc.

Peace Parkland Naturalists

Petro-Canada

RBC Financial Group through RBC Foundation

Red Deer River Naturalists

Society of Grasslands Naturalists

Southern Alberta Group for the Environment

Suncor Energy Foundation

TransCanada PipeLines Limited

Thank You

Alberta Ecotrust extends our appreciation to our  generous supporters and volunteers.

Visit the Ecohome

EcoLiving Tour to visit the Ecohome on Saturday, June 25.
See upcoming events, or www.ecolivingfair.ca for more details.

  Apply to win registration fees
for the
Introduction to Volunteer Management Conference,
October 4, 5, and 6 in Calgary! Read more in the newsletter.

A Call for Volunteers

Are you interested in opportunities to engage your employees in environmental activities?

A number of opportunities currently exist with our environmental partners.

Who, what and where

Read more about the Ecohome project!

On Tuesday May 10, grant review committee members met in Calgary to review recent proposals for funding. A total of $171,730 was awarded to 11 grants, including five Major Project grants and six Community Grants.  In keeping with our top environmental priority of water, as identified in the recent “Maximizing Effectiveness” survey of Albertans, five of the successful projects focus on water protection, conservation or the maintenance of water quality.

Click here to download a summary of May 2005 grant recipients or visit our website for full details on our grant program, for an application checklist and FAQ's.

Capacity Corner:  Volunteer Management

When used strategically and effectively, volunteers are a valuable source of expertise and support for non-profits and charities. However, when volunteer management strategies are not clearly defined, volunteers become frustrated with the lack of role clarity, leading to high volunteer turnover, and staff members use valuable time trying to keep volunteers engaged. In this issue, Capacity Corner provides tools and resources to help support your organization’s goals through effective use of volunteers.

Click here for more information.

A Special Offer!
Alberta Ecotrust values the contribution of our environmental partners and to say thank you, we are offering one of them the opportunity to send one staff member or volunteer to the  upcoming Introduction to Volunteer Management Workshop (October 4, 5 and 6, 2005) in Calgary presented by Volunteer Calgary . We will cover conference fees along with travel and accommodation expenses if required.

We are also offering one representative from an Alberta-based environmental non-government organization the opportunity to win free conference registration only.

The course will cover trends and issues in volunteerism, planning a volunteer program, risk management, job design, orientation and training, performance management, volunteer retention and program policy development.  This is a three-day introductory-level certificate course designed for individuals who have less than 2 years experience in the field of volunteer management.
 
Please apply to Wanda Spooner by August 15, 2005.

Environmental Priority Issue - Protection and restoration of wilderness, natural areas and wildlife habitat 
by Margaret Chandler

As we learned through the course of our recent needs assessment “Maximizing Effectiveness: An Assessment of Environmental Priorities and Voluntary Sector Capacity Needs in Alberta,” one of the four most important environmental issues for Albertans is wilderness and wildlife issues. This issue of Connecting focuses on wilderness and the following stories cover three initiatives taking place in Alberta.

Alberta boasts a diverse landscape and these projects reflect that diversity.The first one, from an environmental group perspective, looks at the work of the Grizzly Bear Alliance. The second one gives a brief overview of Anadarko Canada Corporation’s project in the environmentally sensitive area of Great Sandhills, Saskatchewan. And finally from the provincial government, an update on the monitoring of the wildlife crossings, which were built with G8 Legacy funds.

Click here to read more.

Annoucements

Alberta Ecotrek Update

Don't miss out on your opportunity to register for the first annual Alberta Ecotrek! This is a great opportunity for corporate partners and friends to sponsor a team of employees to undertake the challenge of a weekend adventure race with an environmental twist. All proceeds from this fundraiser will go to Alberta Ecotrust to support community programs.

The race takes place September 10 and 11, 2005 in beautiful Kananaskis Country. It will be a of physical and mental abilities, requiring teams to travel and navigate themselves throughout the a fun and picturesque course in Kananaskis- a great opportunity for corporate teambuilding!

We would like to thank our new sponsors:  Northrock Resources Ltd., Wild Rose Brewery and Alberta Views Magazine . Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Visit our new website to learn more about sponsorship opportunities or to sign up a team for the race! www.albertaecotrek.com.

Earth Day Launch for Ecohome

It was an exciting day for all involved and we were pleased to acknowledge the outstanding support of our founding sponsor, the Alberta Real Estate Foundation and new sponsor, The City of Calgary. Mayor Bronconnier and Alderman Fox-Mellway were on hand to bring greetings from the City and the Mayor officially launched the project. 

This project has been very successful in bringing people, ideas and organizations together. The design of the house was initiated through a design charrette last year that included experts from a variety of backgrounds and interests. In keeping with the collaborative approach of this project, Alberta Ecotrust held another charrette on April 29 to create an environmentally friendly landscaping plan for the house. Native plant experts, landscape design artists, City waterworks employees, environmental groups and representatives from Alberta Ecotrust, Genstar, Jayman MasterBUILT and SAIT joined together to come up with an appealing landscape design that would ultimately eliminate the need to use potable water for irrigation.

Ultimately, this is not an experimental, one of a kind or futuristic home. It is an attractive, affordable conventional home that will appeal to any homebuyer looking to build a house in this price and size range. The house can and will be duplicated many times over for others interested in building a home that focuses on sustainability and energy efficiency.  Once completed, the Ecohome will go on the market and be sold to a lucky homebuyer. All proceeds from this project will support future environmental programs of Alberta Ecotrust. In cooperation with Jayman MasterBuilt and SAIT, the  project will also be used to advance housing industry best practices and promote green technologies in home building and retrofitting.

Construction of the house began in early April and progress has been on track.   In early June, the exterior finishings are completed and work has started on the interior.  Construction will continue throughout the summer and we look forward to celebrating the completion of the house with all our partners, colleagues and the community in the fall. Once completed, the Ecohome will be used to demonstrate and promote sustainability, energy efficiency, climate change and green building technologies and also used as a venue for hands-on community-based environmental education.  Local environmental groups will work with Alberta Ecotrust’s new Community Capacity Coordinator, Stuart Peters, to develop and deliver a variety of programs and workshops at the house once completed.

For a more information and a complete list of Ecohome Supporters please visit our website www.albertaecotrust.com.

Comings and Goings

The Board of Directors is pleased to welcome Carmen Colpoys  as Treasurer and Community Member, along with  nine new members to the 26-member Grant Review Committee. New members include:

Bruce Wilkinson , BP Energy Canada Company
Cindy Chiasson , Environmental Law Centre
Danielle Droitsch , Bow Riverkeeper
Donna Rubenstein , ConocoPhillips Canada
Jim Campbell , Alberta Wilderness Association
Marlo Reynolds , Pembina Institute
Natalie Odd , Clean Calgary
Ric Carrier , Society of Grasslands Naturalists
Sharon Willianen , North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance

Alberta Ecotrust is also pleased to welcome two new staff members.Sarah Wilson recently joined Alberta Ecotrust to coordinate the efforts of the Ecotrek volunteer committee. Sarah is a student in the Public Relations program at Mount Royal College and will be returning to her studies in the fall.  We also welcome Stuart Peters, new community outreach program coordinator later in June. Stuart will coordinate the community engagement program associated with the Ecohome and work with us to design a formal Capacity Building and Outreach program for our organization.

Emerald Awards for Environmental Excellence

Alberta Ecotrust values the work of the Emerald Foundation in promoting the actions of government, industry, individuals and non-profit groups through their annual Emerald Awards.  Grant Program Coordinator Jill Kirker volunteers on the Nominations Committee of the Emerald Foundation and Pat Letizia serves on the 8 - member judging panel.   This year the awards ceremony was held in Calgary on June 7that the EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts.

Once again, many of the organizations and agencies that we work with were nominated for the awards this year. We would like to congratulate the following finalists in their respective categories: 

Not-for-Profit Association Category  
Calgary Materials Exchange (Formerly Foothills Waste Exchange project of Clean Calgary)
North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance – Building a Foundation for the Future

Corporate or Institutional Leadership Category  
Margaret Daniels – Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement  
Jay Westman, President and CEO of Jayman MasterBuilt – Leadership in the Development and Expansion of BuiltGreen™ Alberta   

Education: School or Classroom Category
Dr. E.W. Coffin Elementary School – Rescue, Reclaim and Restore: 3 Rs of Environmental Education 

Education: Organization Category  
“RiverWatch Environmental Education Program Partners with Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant Interpretive Tours”     

Youth Category 
Cochrane High School – Sustainable Development Committee 

For more information please refer to www.emeraldawards.com.

ATCO BBQ supports Alberta Ecotrust

Thanks to ATCO Gas and Electric Employees for attending the BBQs held in both Edmonton and Calgary during Environment Week.  All proceeds from the events will be donated to Alberta Ecotrust. A big thank you to Stew Henderson, Andriana Lapchuk, Steve Piepgrass and other ATCO environmental folks for organizing this event and choosing to support Alberta Ecotrust.