AGM UPDATE: BOARD INTRODUCTION, NO MORE MEMBERSHIP FEE

We welcomed several new board members this year, including: Darcie Acton, (MD of Lesser Slave River); Cori Klassen, the Executive Director of the Lesser Slave Forest Education Society (NGO representative); Nona Elliot, a community member from Shaw’s Point (Cottage Owner & Country Residential representative); Jeanette Willier, a community member from Joussard (Cottage Owner & Country Residential alternate); Susan Nielsen, a producer from Big Meadow (Agriculture representative); and George Keay, the founding chairman of the LSWC, has re join us! (Tourism & Economic Development alternate). We welcome them to the table with open arms, and look forward to having their knowledge and experiences enrich the conversations around our table. We will share pictures of our new board following our Strategic Planning session in early November 2020.

This year is we removed the annual $5 membership fee, our Board of Directors cited concerns with accessibility and financial barriers to potential members. The membership bylaw was updated at the AGM on October 2^nd and going forward an annually renewed membership form is the only requirement for general membership.  If you’re looking for more information, including the full list of directors and most recent annual report, visit www.lswc.ca, call our office at 780-523-9800, email [email protected], or find us on Facebook!

SEEKING DONATIONS FOR NEW BURSARY

Starting in Fall of 2021 the LSWC will have a bursary available to students within the Lesser Slave Watershed studying sciences at a recognized post-secondary institution in Alberta. The award for the bursary will be determined annually, based on community donations. At present we are accepting donations toward the bursary fund, for more information on the bursary or to donate please visit www.lswc.ca/support. This bursary is offered in the memory of Brian Elliot and Brian Rosche, two of the founding Board members from the Lesser Slave Watershed Council. Both these two men contributed a significant amount of time and energy to the promotion of watershed literacy, projects to help us understand the dynamics of our watershed, and to the health of our watershed, and their contributions to the Watershed have not gone unnoticed. Recognized for their abilities to bring about the best in others, and engage with others in the responsible management of our watershed Mr. Elliot and Mr. Rosche’s work will be memorialized through this bursary. At present we are seeking donations for the bursary from community members, with applications opening up in the summer of 2021, with the bursary being awarded at the beginning of the school year.

COMMUNITY THANKS

Watershed Coordinator accepting a cheque from West Fraser staff to fund our 2019 Kids Can Catch Ice Fishing Event in Joussard	Executive Director accepting a cheque from Plains Midstream to support our ongoing Water Quality Monitoring Program

Without the support of local businesses, municipal and provincial governments, and watershed residents it would be impossible for the LSWC to take on the work we do across the watershed. More than $30,000 of financial support has come from forestry and oil and gas companies in the region, and over 1500 hours of volunteer time have helped us to continue to promote watershed stewardship, educate the public, and create opportunities for collaborative projects in the past year. We are so grateful to live, work, and play in the Lesser Slave region, and want to thank all of you for your ongoing support! If you have any questions about what we do, or would like to learn more about our ongoing programs please visit our website www.lswc.ca, call our office at 780-523-9800, email [email protected], or find us on Facebook!

By: Alyssa Belanger