Stewards of Alberta's Protected Areas

09/06/2025

Does your organization receive grants or is thinking about applying for them? For the newbie, the money may seem too easy. Fill in an application and the cheque arrives in the mail. Reality is a bit different as the application can be a Herculean task and only the start of the work for the organization. The effort to deliver on what was promised and the final report should not be underestimated.

Find out if grants are right for your organization, whether there are any tips or tricks to learn, or share your knowledge with the community. Presenters and Panelists come from both experienced grant writers but also from two granting organizations.

Registration is free but must be done in advance. Note, SAPAA and Nature Alberta get first dibs on the limited number of virtual-seats.

Registration: https://sapaastewards.com/2025/08/28/oct-2-taking-nature-for-granted/

Session Details:

Thursday October 2, 2025 from 7 to 8.30pm; doors open early for networking.

Pre-registration is required and closes September 30, 2025; an event link will be sent out on October 1, 2025.

SAPAA is hosting an online seminar on October 2, 2025, which will guide nonprofits through the Grant Management lifecycle, highlighting best practices and utilizing the SAPAA as a case study for ef…

03/31/2025

Do you use iNaturalist? If so, care to provide your thoughts and perspectives on something SAPAA is working on? We are working on two things; one is being finalized and the other a bit further out.

Let's start with the near term one. On each of our Natural Area webpages, we will provide a link which if you click on it, will take you to the observations for that area. If you click on Riverlot 56 and scroll down to 'Biophysical Observations (via iNaturalist.ca)', you will see 'Observations for this Natural Area.'. Clicking on this link will take you iNaturalist for this Protected Area.

It should be all observations for Riverlot 56.

What do you think? Is this information you will use when visiting a Protected Area? Would seeing lots or very few observations change whether your would contribute more/less? Provide some comments below.

The longer-term thing is to create an iNaturalist-Project. It will show the individual Protected Areas on a single dashboard.

Let us know your thoughts!

https://sapaastewards.com/protected-areas/list-of-protected-areas/river-lot-56-na/

A well loved destination for residents of the City of St. Albert, River Lot 56 provides both recreational and a natural refuge from encroaching urban development.

03/21/2025

Are you involved with an organization that stewards a natural area? This may be Crownland but could also be a land trust or even a private reserve.

If so, SAPAA is hosting the first of what will hopefully become a regular event - a meeting of similar organizations to share best practices. The first such sharing will be on technology and how the public can use it to report on problem areas in the site.

Join the Big Lake Environmental Support Society (BLESS), SAPAA, and other organizations for this event on May 6, 7-8pm.

SAPAA will host 1-3 best practice sessions in 2025 for organizations managing nature areas. The first session will include a presentation on QR Code technology by Miles Constable, enhancing reporti…

03/03/2025

Ever wanted to visit the most remote natural area in Alberta for some R&R? Harper Creek may be the place for you!

West of Wood Buffalo National Park, this area used to be known as "Stinking Creek" due to the natural gases coming from the sulphur springs. It protects unique limestone caves and oxbow lakes, along with aspen and white spruce trees and rapids.

Unfortunately, logging and agricultural developments are a threat to the natural landscape and ecosystem, but this gem is a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of life!

02/27/2025

What a pretty flower.... opps, it is a noxious w**d that is taking over a natural area!

How to admire such a pretty flower ... and then rip its little roots out of the ground.

Nature Alberta is our umbrella organization, and this session on invasive species should be great!

March 13th, 2025 Presenter: Michelle Harris Nature Network Speaker Series

02/20/2025

Nature Canada has recently launched a website for bird friendly cities. If you get a few 'thunks' every year from birds hitting our picture window, take a look at the resources.

This is the official website of World Migratory Bird Day in Canada — your all-in-one place to discover, restore, and defend Canada’s migratory birds and the places they call home.

02/16/2025

Opal is one of those Natural Areas that has a bit of intervening land separating the two main sections. As well, there are four parcels of land, two Order in Councils and two Protective Notations. ... Protective What .... ??? Click on protected areas on the website and all will be revealed!

The Opal Natural Areas have both Order in Council and Protective Notation statuses. The two areas are composed of four parcels of land that contain sandy ridges.

02/02/2025

Do you like to poke around (virtually) Alberta's Natural Areas? Want to add Social Media to your resume? Have about 10-20 minutes a week?

I need help.

One of the things I really enjoyed doing was picking a natural area from our website, reading the page, doing a bit of additional research, and then posting it here. Each area is fascinating in its own way. Unfortunately, SAPAA is building some cool things to protect these areas and FB posting has fallen by the wayside.

How can you Help?

Working with a board member, the role is simple. Visit the SAPAA protected area website, select an area that has not yet (or recently) been featured, and post it here. Adding additional context is nice.

Thoughts, do you have 10-20 minutes a week?

2-5 individuals are preferred so you may only have to do this once a month or less.

Message or comment below if you like to 'poke around'!

List of protected areas. Click on name to be taken to a sites web page describing the area.

01/21/2025

Are you involved with an environmental organization (well, besides SAPAA, of course!). Nature Canada is trying to better understand advocacy with a survey. Take a look and consider completing it from your unique advantage.

Thank you for your dedication to protecting nature. As we navigate the challenges of a biodiversity crisis, the collective power of nature organizations like yours has never been more vital. Your conservation and advocacy efforts shape the decisions that determine the future of Canada’s natural la...

01/19/2025

A few years ago, the Alberta Government contracted the Miistakis Institute to evaluate the legacy volunteer stewardship program. A debrief of this report is available to SAPAA members. However, if you were interviewed by Miistakis, feel free to register selecting 'NO - But Invited by GoA or SAPAA' or 'NO - Past (but not current) member'. Of course, you could also just buy a membership... just saying...

The Alberta Government commissioned the Miistakis Institute to evaluate the Volunteer Steward Program, resulting in the ‘Miistakis Report’. SAPAA is hosting a private debriefing for mem…

01/04/2025

SAPAA has been a bit quiet lately here on FB. Amongst other things, we have been working on this article with CBC. Take a look, they did a great job.

Nature lovers in Alberta are continuing to voluntarily look after natural areas, even though a government-run stewardship program that used to formally recognize their efforts has all but disappeared.