Introducing the newest minnows in the OWC pond—Outreach Assistants Sydney and Rebekkah! They will be spending the summer educating folks about the watershed, and participating in stewardship and restoration activities. If you see them out and about this summer, be sure to say hi!

Sydney Taplin

Sydney was born and raised in Saskatchewan, spending the majority of her life on an acreage in the southwest corner of the province, near Maple Creek. After graduating high school, she moved to Lethbridge and earned her diploma in Renewable Resource Management. Sydney spent the past two years at home in the Cypress Hills working as a park ranger and recently travelled to New Zealand over the winter. She is thrilled to return to school to earn her degree in Ecosystem Management with a focus on fish and wildlife after completing her tenure as an OWC Outreach Assistant.

*Sydney standing by a Western Red Cedar in Queenstown, New Zealand*

Sydney feels the most at home when she’s surrounded by wide-open, native prairie grasslands; she is eager to share her passion with everyone who has yet to find their love of wide-open spaces. She thinks there’s nothing better than being able to watch pronghorn run across an open field as you drive down a gravel road!

When she’s not working, you can find Sydney sitting in a lawn chair by the fire with a good book, painting, participating in sports, or playing fetch with her dog. She is excited to be involved in the community, share her passion for maintaining the health of riparian areas in the prairie ecosystem, and create meaningful relationships with people and the wildlife of the Oldman watershed.

Rebekkah Bright

Rebekkah was born in Kelowna, British Columbia and raised in Ponteix, Saskatchewan. She moved to Kipling, Saskatchewan for high school and spent most of her summers at Pasqua Lake in Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan. Throughout high school, Rebekkah volunteered at local organizations and participated in many outdoor activities. In addition to participating in track and field events and soccer games, she helped run a parks and recreation program and was a camp counsellor at Springside Children’s Camp near Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

*Rebekkah hiking in the valley of Echo Lake Provincial Park, Saskatchewan*

After graduating, she spent five weeks in Baie-St. Paul, Quebec strengthening her French language abilities and hiking/climbing in the region of Charlevoix north of Quebec City. These experiences fostered her love of both mountain and prairie-grassland landscapes and led her to pursue a diploma in Renewable Resource Management at Lethbridge College. after a summer of being Park Ranger in Echo Valley Provincial Park and Katepwa Lake near Fort Qu’Appelle.

This is Rebekkah’s first summer in Alberta. She is looking forward to connecting with people throughout southern Alberta, educating residents about the importance of watersheds, and practicing environment conservation.