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23rd Annual Emerald Awards

The Emerald Awards recognize and celebrate outstanding environmental achievements across all sectors in Alberta.

Selected by a panel of knowledgeable third-party judges, the 23rd Annual Emerald Awards were presented on June 5, 2014 at the Martha Cohen Theatre in Calgary.

Community Group & Nonprofit Association

Award Recipient

Children’s Summer Camp

Camp Maskepetoon

The judges loved that “The most innovated thing about Camp Maksepetoon is that it hasn’t changed in 58 years.”  It promotes a natural, back-to-nature approach to camping and gives campers the opportunity to escape from city life, slow down, enjoy time outdoors, hike, take canoe lessons, swim in the lake, take part in nature journaling,…

The Miistakis Institute

The Miistakis Institute not only provides data to decision makers, but also provides comprehensive context and knowledge around important environmental and land development issues.  Miistakis takes academic knowledge and makes it available for practical use in the Alberta environmental field.

Solar Energy Society of Alberta

Alberta has an excellent solar resource and the Solar Energy Society of Alberta has created unique programs to help residents take advantage of it.  They strive to deliver the best solar education programs to usher in a clean energy future in Alberta.

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Education: School or Classroom

Award Recipient

EcoVision Projects

Lacombe Composite High School

Lacombe Composite High School’s Eco Vision Club focuses on empowering students to become ecological leaders through projects that benefit their environment, enhance their education and encourage community collaboration.  All of their projects have increased awareness of environmental issues, changing school and community culture.

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Emerald Challenge Award: WATER

Award Recipient

LakeWatch Program

Alberta Lake Management Society

For more than 25 years, this volunteer based community water-testing program has been engaging Albertans in the collection of scientific data from their local lake or reservoir and working to ensure that Alberta’s water resources will not be the limiting factor in the health of our environment.  The LakeWatch program is a critical component of…

Southern Rockies Watershed Project

Southern Rockies Watershed Project Team

The Southern Rockies Watershed Project is in its 10th year of watershed research and monitoring and focuses on climate, hydrology and stream ecosystem health.  Their research activities span 80 square kilometres and nine watersheds and represent the largest and longest running forest hydrology research projects in Alberta.  One judge said “to keep this going for…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Government Institution

Award Recipient

Waste In Residence Program

Office of Sustainability, University of Alberta

UAlberta has a long tradition of providing recycling services going back to the 1970’s, long before the practise was mainstream. Recently they have refocused on enhancing the student experience in residences related to waste and since 2010, has diverted 11,600 of waste beyond their traditional recycling streams. This has been accomplished through commitment, shared responsibility,…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Individual Commitment

Award Recipient

Barry Kolenosky

Mr. Kolenosky has shown an outstanding level of commitment to the environment in his position with Lac La Biche County, going above and beyond business as usual and blazing new trails in water management.

A Career Dedicated to Wildlife Conservation

Bob Peel

How many people can say they have saved a species??  Bob Peel’s whole-hearted commitment to wildlife conservation is evident in his 41-year career with the Calgary Zoo and is most visible through his continuing work at the zoo’s Devonian Wildlife Conservation Centre where dedicated to the captive breeding of endangered species for reintroduction to the…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Large Business

Award Recipient

Statoil Understanding Caribou Initiatives

Statoil Canada

Statoil is demonstrating that a healthy environment and economy is attainable by using science to develop methods that can protect caribou in Alberta’s oil sands. Not only is Statoil learning more about Caribou through their innovative methods to conserve their habitat, but they are also sharing their knowledge to help to understand and conserve the…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Public Education and Outreach

Award Recipient

Project Webfoot

Ducks Unlimited

Ducks Unlimited Canada operates this environmental education program which is currently celebrating its twentieth consecutive year of operation in Alberta and teaches about wetlands conservation, delivering programming for over 100,000 students.

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Shared Footprints Award

Award Recipient

Algar Restoration Pilot Project

Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA)

This project represents a collaboration between six oil sands companies, the province of Alberta and the local forestry industry and is actively restoring important caribou habitat.  COSIA recognizes the importance of maintaining biodiversity while responsibly developing oil sands assets.   One judge said “COSIA has stepped in where there hadn’t been any action before.”

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Small Business

Award Recipient

Rough Fescue Grasslands Restoration Project

Tannas Conservation Services

Foothills rough fescue (Festuca campestris) is the climax grassland species of the grasslands stretching along the foothills in south- Through research on the mechanisms behind Kentucky bluegrass invasion and methods to restore rough fescue, Steven Tannas and the team at Tannas Conservation Services, has been able to create a reclamation technique that has resulted in…

Waldron Project

Waldron Grazing Co-Operative Ltd.

Located in Alberta’s Southern Foothills, the Waldron Property is the largest remaining block of deeded land along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, and last year, the Waldron Grazing Co-operative Ltd. made Canadian conservation history by voting in favour of working with the Nature Conservancy of Canada to place a conservation easement on the…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Youth

Award Recipient

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.