OVERVIEW
The OWC is a proud partner in many projects and organizations. As a community-based non-profit, it is important that we are involved in collaborative efforts and are a voice for the watershed and the people who live here.
PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVES (ACTIVE)
Yellow Fish Road
Yellow Fish Road is a nationwide environmental education program designed and managed by Trout Unlimited Canada. The Yellow Fish Road program's goal is to help Canadians understand that storm drains are the doorways to our rivers, lakes, and streams. Preventing pollutants from entering our storm drains is critical to protecting and improving our watersheds, water quality, and aquatic habitat.
Youth volunteers paint yellow fish symbols next to storm drains and distribute information to nearby households to remind residents that anything on the street or dumped into storm drains ends up in their local water body untreated.
The OWC supports this program by supporting the communities that partner with Trout Unlimited to host this program in their area. To learn more and get your own kit, visit:
Alberta Prairie Conservation Forum
Sometimes we forget that the land in our watershed has a direct impact on the rivers, lakes, and even groundwater. The Prairie Conservation Forum is a coalition of stakeholders and individuals who are active in conserving grassland and parkland ecosystems in Alberta. This group is currently involved in the implementation of the Prairie Conservation Action Plan.
The OWC is a proud member of the PCF Education Team that engages residents to raise awareness of grasslands issues. This team has assisted with organizing a Teacher’s Institute with Inside Education, a Grassland Education Field Trip with youth in collaboration with the Helen Schuler Nature Centre, and is working on developing an educational video conference session for schools.
Part of the PCF, the Drawn into Action Project is an innovative spin-off of community mapping, which enables citizens to compile stories of their homes. Community maps are useful tools to display and share community-based knowledge, values, and relationships. Field trips were also held to connect learners to the local ecosystems and to the community. Pre- and post-mapping workshops incorporated techniques that would challenge and engage people’s artistic side to assist them in giving a voice to our watershed, the grasslands, local history and culture, wildlife species, and land-use perspectives. Art pieces developed during this mapping project were displayed in community-wide exhibits. The OWC sponsored the Helen Schuler Nature Centre, which oversaw this project.
Caring For Our Watersheds
Caring For Our Watersheds is an educational program sponsored by Nutrien® (formerly Agrium®) that asks students to submit a proposal that answers the question, "What can you do to improve your watershed?"
Students must research their local watershed, identify an environmental concern and come up with a realistic solution. Community judges select the top entries to compete in a final competition.
This program is sponsored by Nutrien® and supported by the OWC.
To learn more or enter the contest, visit caringforourwatersheds.com. If you’re an educator, you can also book a free in-class presentation! Call 403.330.1346 or email info@oldmanwatershed.ca.
Past winners and finalists from the Oldman Watershed:
Tyson Bonnert
Cassandra Schinkle (twice)
Kelsey Armstrong
Nicholas Locken and Brayden Brausse (check out their video on microbeads)
Ocean Wise Shoreline Cleanup
A program that started in 1994 with a small team of employees and volunteers at the Vancouver Aquarium, the Ocean Wise Shoreline Cleanup (formerly the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup) has grown into a national program with thousands of volunteers across Canada taking part in an effort to clean up our shorelines.
Each September the Oldman Watershed Council and the Helen Schuler Nature Centre partner to host a clean-up along the Oldman River in Lethbridge. Volunteers of all ages come out to participate in this event—we even get High Level Canoes and Kayaks out to further our efforts by cleaning up from within the river!
The most common finds are cigarette butts, food containers and packaging, and bottle caps and lids. Some odd items that we have found over the years include a chainsaw, a spear-gun (yes, you read that correctly!), bicycles, lawn furniture, shopping carts, car parts, and even a microwave!
Litter always has the potential to end up in or near the river—even if you don't directly throw it there. With our strong winds and the fact that our storm drains flow directly into the river, litter can be carried just about anywhere! And we are still finding it interesting how so many people don't consider throwing a cigarette butt on the ground as littering. Last year alone in the cleanups across Canada nearly half a million cigarette butts were collected—that's wild!
Learn more and get involved with the cleanup.
Alberta Water Council
The AWC is a provincial non-profit that provides policy recommendations to the Government of Alberta and tracks progress on the Water for Life Strategy. The Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils of Alberta have a seat on the AWC’s Board of Directors and the OWC is now serving as an alternate on this Board. OWC is also involved in AWC’s Source Water Protection Team which is developing recommendations to better integrate water and land management processes related to source water protection.
Roundtable on the Crown of the Continent
OWC is a member of the Roundtable’s Leadership Team to provide strategic direction and oversight for this collaborative network that involves groups in Montana, British Columbia, and Alberta. The Roundtable is a network to facilitate collective learning and collaboration across borders and holds an annual conference and provides funding for projects that enhance culture, community, and conservation in the Crown. OWC has been fortunate to receive Adaptive Management Initiative Grants from the Roundtable to support the implementation of our Headwaters Action Plan.
Watershed Resiliency and Restoration Program (WRRP)
OWC is part of the WRRP Advisory Team that provides advice and recommendations to the Government of Alberta to guide the development and refinement of WRRP and its alignment with the Agriculture Watershed Enhancement program under Growing Forward 2. By participating we can help ensure that the outcomes of these two programs are aligned and best serve the needs of those actively involved in watershed restoration and management.
Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce Natural Resources and Environment Committee
OWC participates on this committee to network with local businesses and assists with raising awareness amongst businesses of steps they can take to lower their environmental impact, all while benefiting their business. The Committee showcases local success stories and also provides information and advice to guide Chamber policies.
South Saskatchewan River Basin Intra-basin Water Coordination Committee
The OWC participates on this committee to provide advice to the Government of Alberta on managing water during periods of water shortage and how to best meet the Master Agreement on Apportionment, which shares water between the Prairie Provinces.
PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVES (COMPLETED)
Environment Lethbridge (formerly Environmental Awareness Team)
The Environmental Awareness Team (EAT) promoted and hosted events and activities that encouraged acts of environmentalism in the Lethbridge community. This team evolved from the Environment Week Committee, which focused on planning events and bringing awareness to environmental issues during the first week of June, which is designated as Environment Week in Canada. The team aimed to broaden its impact by hosting events throughout the year.
The team was made up of representatives from the City of Lethbridge Waste & Recycling Services, the Helen Schuler Nature Centre, the Alberta Health Services, and the Oldman Watershed Council.
In 2010 the EAT spearheaded the very successful Green List recognition program. The Green List was created to recognize individuals, businesses, and organizations that are taking “green” actions to better the environment.
In 2013, Environment Lethbridge was formed as a multi-stakeholder non-profit and took over these activities. OWC guided the organization as it was established by spearheading the development of EL’s first strategic plan and corresponding budget.
Wetland Interpretive Signs
In 2006, the City of Lethbridge partnered with the Oldman Watershed Council to develop ten interpretive signs along the path around the constructed wetland in Lethbridge's first sustainable community of Sun Ridge in southwest Lethbridge. The signs point out features of the wetland and explain the many important functions the wetland performs for the community. In 2010 the same signs were adapted for the wetlands at the Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale.
The function of these constructed wetlands is to collect and filter stormwater from yards and roads before the water is piped directly into the Oldman River. These wetlands protect the Oldman River from pollutants such as dirt, herbicides, fertilizers, oil, gas, and pet waste. They also offer recreational opportunities and beautify our urban spaces.
If your organization is interested in wetland signs of your own, contact info@oldmanwatershed.ca.
Stewards in Motion
OWC provided funding and assistance with organizing a Stewards in Motion workshop in Claresholm in partnership with the Land Stewardship Centre, Environmental Law Centre, and Miistakis Institute. The workshop provided practical information and resources to 30 stewards who are tackling watershed issues so that they have the support they need to succeed. By understanding the context of the issue and who the players are and collaborating with them, these stewards are now better equipped to achieve their goals.
Crown Managers Partnership (CMP) and Crown of the Continent Conservation Initiative (CCCI)
The OWC participated in CMP Landscape Patterns Workshops to determine priority areas for further collaborative work within the Crown of the Continent. Within Alberta, the Oldman headwaters region and Highway 3 were two of the 4 priority areas selected for collaborative work with focused working groups.
Through collaborative efforts with the Headwaters Action Team, the OWC participated in a Crown-wide climate adaptation focus on ‘Piloting Adaptation Strategies to Reduce Vulnerability and Increase Resilience for Native Salmonids in the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem’.
