Lonny Balbi
Lonny Balbi offers the secret of success for Calgary’s Bike to Work Day, a one-day event now in its 12th year with over 5,000 participants peddling into the city core – keep it simple.
Long advised to have registration fees and sponsors, Balbi has instead kept the event bare-bones, determined that anyone can hop on a bike that day and ride for the fun of it. Hosting ...
Steve Donelon
In his 35-year career with Alberta Parks, Steve Donelon has never been the business-as-usual type. Instead, his time has been marked by a dedication to Alberta’s natural spaces, making a positive impact on air, land, water, flora, fauna, biodiversity and youth engagement through innovative approaches to park management.
Donelon’s focus on insuring minimal impact to park spaces started early on, when he was a Park Ranger and ...
Dirk & Nanja Struck
Talk about inspiring—leaving a job (and pension) just three years before retirement because you see a need for change. That’s the story of Dirk and Nanja Struck, whose dedication to sustainable living set them on a different path 20 years ago, one that helps Calgarians live in a more environmentally-friendly way.
The Barrelman is a small family business that produces rain barrels from food grade barrels that ...
Lonny Balbi
Lonny Balbi, Q.C., is an avid cyclist, noted humanitarian and environmental sustainability advocate. It was these three passions that led him to create Calgary’s most recognizable cycling-themed environmental support event, Bike to Work Day. As the founder and inspirational leader of this annual event, Mr. Balbi devotes countless hours of his own time, as well as the resources of Balbi & Company Legal Centre, the law practice he ...
Ann Smreciu
Ann Smreciu is a champion of native plants. For more than 30 years she has worked to re-establish Alberta’s native plants on disturbed lands, from dams and utility corridors to landfills and mine spoils. At the outset of her career, relatively few species could be considered for such projects because supplies of viable seed were non-existent or extremely limited, and little was known about their ...
Lakeland College
Melvin Mathison joined Lakeland College in 1989 as an instructor in agriculture and environmental sciences. In 2005, he became the Dean of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, which allowed him to develop his passion for enhancing the learning opportunities available at Lakeland College in the areas of agriculture and environmental sciences. Over the course of his ten years of leadership, Lakeland developed many new programs, built several new buildings, and established ...
Battle River First Nation Blessing of the Water Ceremony
Roy and Judy Louis have a strong spiritual belief that water is to be considered living and must be respected. The Samson Cree Nation has a variety of cultural and social practices that involve water, which Roy and Judy strive to bring to light for their fellow First Nations as well as non-aboriginal people. Roy and Judy Louis’ work in building relationships between all people has skyrocketed over the last ...
Western Sky Land Trust Society
Jerry Brunen has served Alberta’s environmental community for 35 years. In 1987 with Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), Jerry successfully led the First Step Initiative, a continental program to manage migratory birds under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, surrounding the Buffalo Lake Moraine, creating a chain of migratory support for waterfowl. He negotiated and managed the restoration of Weed Lake by rallying Rocky View County, the Western Irrigation District and ...
Dr. Shapiro has been an enthusiastic and passionate Science and Environmental Educator in the Province of Alberta for many years. She has provided tireless and committed support to promote environmental excellence through inspirational advisement and work with a generation of student teachers, practicing educators, hundreds of graduate students and members of the Alberta and Canadian Environmental Education Community. She has developed outstanding university courses, award-winning curriculum materials, ...
Nikki Heck
Nikki Heck is an example of how one person can make a big difference within a large corporation. For nearly a decade, Nikki has shown environmental leadership and personal dedication by working to protect avian species on AltaLink’s electric system. Prior to Nikki’s work, the impacts resulting from avian–power line interactions were virtually unknown, despite birds causing an estimated 20 per cent of all power outages. Through the implementation of ...