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Welcome to our e-newsletter refresh! With 2023 underway, we've decided to title our monthly e-newsletter the Athabasca Current, where each month we share the latest opportunities for upcoming events, links of interest, and give you an update on staff and board activities!
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Upwelling usually refers to the process by which deep, cold ocean water is brought to the surface. It can also refer to a similar occurrence in large lakes (Like Lake Athabasca), or the transportation of nutrients in a body of water. In the Athabasca Current, we'll highlight a top priority item (or two!) here.
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Alberta's Northern Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils (WPAC's): the Athabasca Watershed Council, the Mighty Peace Watershed Alliance and the Lesser Slave Watershed Council invite you to join us for 2 days of learning, exploration and discussion of water management issues, challenges and partnerships in Grande Prairie, AB!
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Watershed Planning and Advisory Committees (WPACs) are non-profits, working for Alberta's Water for Life Strategy. We are collaborators bringing together partners for innovative water management and protection. Join WPACs for our 2nd annual World Water Day Webinar! Our expert panel will be sharing all about the ways we can work with our wild and human neighbours to protect and preserve our waterways.
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The thalweg is the line connecting the lowest points in a valley, and thus the line of fastest flow or deepest water. For the Athabasca Current, the Thalweg will be events and opportunities that are coming up quick.
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Applications for the Caring for Our Watershed Contest are open for one more month! This contest is open to all students from grades 7-12 who are interested in improving their watershed. If you're an educator in the Athabasca watershed and want to let your students know about this opportunity, contact Ashley at outreach@awc-wpac.ca to have a presentation to your class!
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NEW! X-Stream Science is now available in the Athabasca watershed starting in May 2023, for grades 7-12! X-Stream Science is an experiential learning program initially created by the Battle River Watershed Alliance to give students hands-on scientific field experience. To learn more about the program contact Ashley at outreach@awc-wpac.ca, or 780-213-4389.
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A channel can be defined as the outline of a path of water. The channel is where we'll be outlining some of the work the staff and board have done each month!
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On January 20th, staff met in-person at our office in Athabasca to discuss what the new year will bring! Staff are guided by our strategic plan, which can be viewed here. We have exciting events coming up over the next few months, which you can view on our calendar.
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On January 24th, our Watershed Science Coordinator attended the ALUS Partnership Advisory Committee. ALUS has put in 10.8 km of fencing, planted 3345 trees, and enrolled 258 acres into the ALUS program! 13 projects have been completed so far. If you have a project in mind for your land, check out https://alus.ca/alus_community/barrhead-westlock-athabasca/
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The next AWC board meeting will be held in February 2023, more details to come.
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Check out some of our blog posts for more information on our projects and why we do them:
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Playfair was an English geologist who was among some of the first Western scientists to recognize that rivers shape the landscape. River basins and valleys are formed by water carving across the landscape. This section will be where we share news, surveys, and other links from across the landscape that might shape the way we view the Athabasca watershed.
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Surface Water Quality Management Framework for the Upper Athabasca River:
This framework will be a key component of Alberta’s approach to managing cumulative effects in our watersheds.
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Fort Assiniboine Bicentennial Canoe Brigade:
The Athabasca Watershed Council is happy to be helping the Voyageur Brigade Scoiety with the Fort Assiniboine Bicentennial Voyageur Canoe Brigade! This 6 day trip will be from July 6 to July 13, 2023. It will be around 340 kilometers on the Athabasca River, from Whitecourt to Athabasca.
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Ice Fishing in the Athabasca Region
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A confluence is a place where two streams flow together. If you'd like to help the AWC and support the work that we do, please consider supporting the AWC through making a donation.
Our organization is accepting donations through the ATB Cares/Benevity portal. ATB Cares will match 15% of every dollar donated to Alberta-based, non-religious charities through this site (up to $5,000 of matching funds a year).
Your support to the Athabasca Watershed Council will help us achieve our vision of a watershed that is ecologically healthy, socially responsible, and economically sustainable. If you would like to make a donation, visit our website using the link below.
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Bankfull is the point on the slope of a bank where any further water level rise would cause water to spill out onto the floodplain. We thank our members and partner organizations for their ongoing support. We hope to be able to go above and beyond in the work that we do, which wouldn't be possible without our supporters. This month we would like to recognize ALUS Barrhead-Westlock-Athabasca. We've partnered together on a number of projects to help improve and restore riparian areas and wetlands across the Athabasca watershed. Thank you for supporting the Athabasca Watershed Council!
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