Celebration of Southern Albertans

SACEE would like to celebrate the great actions and leadership of southern Albertans. We are currently any projects that promote stewardship, conservation, awareness and appreciaton of our environment and the many natural places around our region. If you know of an example please email us.

Congratulations to Natalie Ashbee and the Winston Churchill Environmental Club for each being awarded a YES Grant for emerging environmental leaders in Alberta.

Natalie Ashbee Alternative Energy Workshops website
Winston Churchill High School Drought Tolerant Garden & Monarch Butterfly Habitat coming soon
Kristie Wegener Lee Creek Remediation Work Plan coming soon
Leslie Mahoney    
     

Congratulations to the following recipents and finalists of the Alberta Emerald Awards.

2008 Category Topic  
Peigan Friends Along the River Community Group In 1990 Harley Bastien founded and organized the first annual Fish Rescue at the Lethbridge Northern Irrigation District canal and aquaduct situated on the Piikani Nation located in southwestern Alberta. finalist
Peter Sherrington Corporate or Institutional Leadership On March 20, 1992 Peter Sherrington counted 103 golden eagles over a six-hour period near Mount Lorette in the Kananaskis Valley. recipient
2006      
1st Choice Savings Small Business In February 2004, 1st Choice Savings and Credit Union began the design and construction of a new facility in Lethbridge, committing itself to the use of sustainable design principles. finalist
Paul Bohnert Individual Commitment As an individual, and an active member of the community, Paul Bohnert has made a significant impact on people's environmental attitudes at the regional level, as well as with environmental educators throughout Alberta, finalist
E. B. (Buck) Cunningham Corporate or Institutional Leadership As one of Alberta's first fisheries biologists with the provincial government and later a naturalist with Parks Canada, Buck Cunningham recognized the need for an educational program for resource officers and technicians that combined biological and physical sciences with law enforcement recipient
Dennis McKerracher Research & Innovation Dennis McKerracher is a southern Alberta pork producer. He has demonstrated, through a practical and economical exchange of water drinkers, that a commercial hog facility can make significant water savings. recipient
2005      
Beaver Creek Watershed Community Group In the winter of 1999 in a watershed in the southwestern corner of Alberta the local community of farmers, ranchers, and recreational landholders came together to form the Beaver Creek Watershed Group (BCWG). Their objectives were to improve the riparian health, water quality and wildlife habitat of the Beaver Creek watershed in which they all live. recipient
2004      
Art Bonertz Individual Commitment The Town of Pincher Creek is the heart of the wind energy industry in Alberta and as Mayor of Pincher Creek and a member of Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) Utilities Committee, Art Bonertz has been a stalwart crusader in promoting wind energy as a mainstream source of electricity. finalist
Cheryl Bradley Individual Commitment Early in her career, Cheryl worked throughout the Province with Alberta Parks as a park resource analyst and planner conducting field surveys, literature searches, air photo interpretation and system planning. recipient
2003      
Lethbridge Rattlesnake Conservation Program Community Group The City of Lethbridge Rattlesnake Conservation Program was initiated in May 2001 to respond to the increasing number of human and rattlesnake interactions happening in the Lethbridge area. Following the construction a new hibernaculum (or winter home for snakes) at Cottonwood Park, which is one of the City of Lethbridge's Nature Reserves, volunteers began to capture and relocate vulnerable and problem snakes to their new home. finalist
2002      
Castle-Crown Wilderness Coalition Community Group The Castle-Crown Wilderness Coalition (CCWC) was formed in 1990 to protect and restore nearly 1000 square kilometres of public lands north of Waterton Lakes National Park and west of Pincher Creek. finalist
Medicine Hat Interpretive Program Education: Other Organization The Medicine Hat Interpretive Program (MHIP) objective is to encourage, through education, the appreciation of southeastern Alberta's natural environment and our relationship to it. MHIP has been tremendously successful, in large part because staff do not "rest on their laurels". finalist
Peigan Nation Community Group The Peigan Nation is a First Nations group located in Alberta. For the past 19 years, they have been working to turn an abundant renewable resource, wind, into something they can benefit from environmentally, socially and economically finalist
2001      
Dr. Walter David Willms Research & Innovation Dr. Walter David Willms is a rangeland ecologist who has been researching and designing innovative systems to preserve and utilize rangeland since 1980 and whose work has application to the southern prairies, eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains and the grasslands and forested range in central B.C. Rangelands are not generally suitable for cultivation but for grazing cattle. recipient
Milk River Aquifier Management Advisory Committee Community Group In 1988, the County of Forty Mile formed a Rural Water Development Task Force in response to chronic water shortages in some areas of the County. This Task Force consisted of farmers, ranchers, representatives from three counties, Alberta Agriculture Food and Rural Development, Alberta Environment and Prairie Farm Regional Association. recipient
Oldman River Basin Water Quality Initiative Community Group The Oldman River Basin Water Quality Initiative was established in response to public concerns about the quality of the water in the Oldman River basin. The construction of the Oldman River Dam and the extensive use of the water for agricultural irrigation, feed lots, industry and municipal water systems were considered to have so changed the water quality that major studies and action should be undertaken. recipient
Southern Alberta Land Trust Society (SALTS) Not-for-profit Association In 1996 a group of ranchers in southwestern Alberta came together to discuss their concerns about the fragmentation of the wildlife habitat and native rangelands along the Eastern Slopes. In addition to their ranching experience, the ranchers represented a broad expertise in biology, wildlife management and local government. recipient
Waterton Community Plan 2000 Government Institution Growing public concern about the commercial development in national parks and the resulting environmental impacts arising from urban developments led the Minister of Canadian Heritage to direct Parks Canada to review existing community plans. recipient
2000      
Lamb-Weston - A Division of ConAgra Large Business Located near Taber, Lamb-Weston, a division of Con Agra Ltd., and its potato processing plant, use a revolutionary zero discharge approach to effluent management. Their brand of proactive waste management not only protects the water quality of the Oldman River, but also enhances agricultural health and opportunities in the region. recipient
1999      
Society of Grasslands Naturalists Community Group Grasslands Naturalists is a dynamic group dedicated to the preservation and appreciation of the nature of Southeast Alberta.
 finalists
Waterton Community Green Team Society Community Group The Waterton Park and Community Green Team provides recycling services in the village. finalists
1998      
Blackfoot Core Table Community Group The Blackfoot Core Table was formed in 1995 to create an action plan that would address concerns about the environmental impact of increased human activities within the Cooking Lake/Blackfoot Grazing, Wildlife and Recreational Area (Blackfoot Recreational Area). recipient
1997      
Barry Adams and Lorne Fitch Corporate or Institutional Leadership Barry Adams and Lorne Fitch are the driving force behind the Cows and Fish, Riparian Habitat Management Project, a unique partnership between the wildlife community, the cattle industry, and the federal and provincial governments. recipient
Helen Schuler Coulee Centre Education: Other Organization The Helen Schuler Coulee Centre has been instrumental in developing an environmental ethic among the citizens of Lethbridge. Housed in a simple building in the Oldman River Valley Nature Reserve, staff and volunteers consistently develop and deliver quality exhibits and programs to schools, youth groups, seniors, families and the general public - about 43,000 people in 1996. recipient
Society of Grasslands Naturalists Community Group Grasslands Naturalists is a dynamic group dedicated to the preservation and appreciation of the nature of Southeast Alberta.
 finalists
1995      
Canbra Foods, Brian Preddy, Superintendent, Seed Plant Waste Management Big Business   finalist
Mountain Bluebird Trails Conservation Group Community Group The Mountain Bluebird is indigenous to Alberta but in recent decades it had virtually disappeared from much of its natural range. Mountain Bluebird Trails is a group of committed volunteers who have, over the last 20 years, helped to establish and maintain a huge network of nest boxes to encourage the repopulation of these birds. recipient
1994      
Alberta Birds of Prey Foundation Community Group Active since 1982 and more recently a registered charity, the Alberta Birds of Prey Foundation is Alberta's first privately licensed raptor rescue and conservation organization. We are located two hours south of Calgary in the heart of Canada's wild prairies finalist
Society of Grasslands Naturalists Community Group Grasslands Naturalists is a dynamic group dedicated to the preservation and appreciation of the nature of Southeast Alberta.
 finalists