Living Lakes Canada

10/15/2026

📰 Our latest newsletter is out! It's got a bit of a "looking to the future" theme, with a focus on our search for a new executive director, the potentially foreboding results of our water monitoring data in the Kootenays, our quest to help protect Okanagan Lake through our shoreline survey, and our multi-pronged efforts to boost the next generation's biodiversity skills and water literacy.

You can find the newsletter here ⬇️

Discover Living Lakes Canada's latest updates, including our executive director transition.

10/14/2026

🏔️ In a more unpredictable and extreme climate, the hidden value of living among loftier peaks may be a more secure water supply, according to preliminary trends emerging from this year’s monitoring data from our Columbia Basin Water Monitoring Framework.

The exceptionally warm 2025–26 winter brought rain instead of snow to many low- and mid-elevation areas. Higher elevations in the East Kootenays retained more snowpack and maintained steadier summer water flows.

The West Kootenay region experienced early runoff, worsening drought, and relied on late-June rainfall for relief. We shared one of our graphs last week, but the difference is more apparent when the graphs are viewed together.

The data highlight how climate change is making lower-elevation water supplies increasingly unreliable. Location-specific monitoring is essential as warm, wet winters with less snow are threatening severe summer water shortages.



Read more in our news release on the subject ⬇️
https://livinglakescanada.ca/2026/10/13/lower-elevation-less-secure-water-supply/

10/12/2026

🙏 On Thanksgiving Day, we want to take a moment to express our gratitude to our community: heartfelt thanks to all our funders, our collaborators, and everyone who takes an interest in our work and supports us.

That includes all of you following us on social media, especially those of you who take the time to give us a thumbs up or contribute thoughtful remarks. We see you and appreciate you! Here’s hoping you have (or had, if you’re reading this after October 12) a relaxing and enjoyable Thanksgiving Day.

This photo — of a real lake in Quebec! — is our lake-appropriate way of expressing thanks.

10/10/2026

Our Pen Pals for Water program is growing! 💧

We now have 35 classrooms registered, representing more than 840 students across seven provinces and territories, with even more classrooms expected through EcoSchools Canada 🍁

We’ve had particularly strong uptake from Ontario, where someone south of the border seems to have stirred up Canadian interest in lake names 👀

It’s not too late to register your classroom! Joining Pen Pals for Water is simple:

🔷 Register - complete the online registration form

🔷 Receive Your Resources - we provide curriculum-aligned, ready-to-teach lessons and resources

🔷 Get Matched - we match classrooms based on grade level and class size and facilitate the initial introduction

🔷 Learn - students learn about freshwater through flexible classroom lessons and activities

🔷 Exchange Letters - students share what they've learned, receive letters from their partner classroom, and continue learning through another community's perspective

Ready to dive in? 💧 Register your classroom today! ✏️

https://tinyurl.com/pp4w-registration

10/09/2026

💧 The data from our Columbia Basin Water Monitoring Framework hydrometric stations confirm what the recent federal report on Canada’s Changing Climate stated: Summer freshwater availability in southern Canada is threatened by changes in the water cycle. Many important water cycle processes are occurring earlier in spring, such as snowmelt, peak stream flow, and groundwater recharge, which pose risks to summer water availability.

Communities whose water supply is generated in the headwaters of mid- to low-elevation peaks are especially vulnerable. This year, our hydrometric station at Beaver Creek in B.C.’s West Kootenay region ran nearly three times higher through the winter than the year before. Snow that should have been stored for spring and summer was melting and running off in January.

“Water that leaves in January is simply just not there in August,” said Rory Gallaugher, AScT, local hydrologist and owner of Kootenay Environmental Innovations, who conducts monitoring for Living Lakes.



You can find our October Watershed Bulletin here ⬇️
https://livinglakescanada.ca/project/columbia-basin-water-monitoring-framework/

10/06/2026

🐸 We just wrapped up the second of our Biodiversity Field School workshops, this time in the Okanagan. Our school offers hands-on training designed for emerging environmental professionals and university students.

Our participants were pleased with their experiences, citing their encounter with a large tiger salamander and their contribution to the study of a tailed frog as particular highlights. (Will it turn out to be a new species of tailed frog or a precedent-setting range expansion of the coastal tailed frog?)

Grace Sabo, our Lakes program coordinator, attended as an instructor, and talked to students about their experience as the class was wrapping up. Here’s a sampling of their reflections:

✳️ Combining in-person instruction with immediate, hands-on field application allowed them to put baseline conservation and biology theory into practice.

✳️ They appreciated the accessible, real-world field experience that is often difficult to acquire early in a research career.

✳️ The direct, hands-on experience in nature is the most motivating and effective way to learn compared to traditional classroom settings.

✳️ The course is highly recommended, particularly for those lacking field experience, due to the close interaction with wildlife and the opportunity to collaborate with experienced peers offering diverse perspectives.

Here’s a bit of Grace’s chat with Ruedi Kelsch, one of the participants, who’s convinced the fully immersive experience has worthwhile lessons for everyone!

10/05/2026

💧 We’re excited and looking forward to the Environmental Flows Conference this week in Kelowna, B.C., where Grace Fields, our Columbia Basin Water Monitoring Framework program coordinator, will present on October 7 as part of a panel session on community-based science and monitoring.

Grace will touch on our Wilmer Watershed Model, our work with the Province of BC’s Aquatic Ecosystems Drought monitoring program, and our program on mapping water resources for wildfire suppression.

She will share the stage with:

💧 Wendy Monk, of Environment and Climate Change Canada,

💧 Ilias Hani, of INRS - Institut national de la recherche scientifique,

💧 Andrew Swinoga, of Story Environmental Inc., and

💧 Saeed Mohammadiun, of Northwest Hydraulic Consultants.

10/03/2026

⏰ Coming up this Tuesday! B.C. has experienced early, serious and sustained drought in parts of the province this year, making this an important discussion that could help British Columbians transition to a more resilient approach to freshwater supply and stewardship.

🎟️ SAVE THE DATE: What does "Drought Ready" really mean for British Columbia?

Drought is no longer a temporary summer problem- it's the new reality. So how do we move from crisis response, to true resilience?

Join us for our Creating a Blue Dialogue webinar, where the co-authors of our new report Drought Ready: From Crisis Response to Community and Watershed Resilience in British Columbia will share a decade of insights and their vision for a drought-ready future.

💧 What you'll learn:

🔹 How drought is changing across B.C.
🔹 How communities are responding
🔹 The provincial policy reforms needed to shift from crisis response to preparation and resilience

📅 Oct. 6, 2026 | 12:30–2 p.m. PT
📍 Online | 🎟️ Free!

🔗 Register now: https://uvic.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9QlhwM_oTlehlatw7cOk4w #/registration 💬

10/02/2026

👋 Not all groundwater is hidden from us! Many creeks, streams, lakes, and wetlands are fed in part by groundwater springs — locations where groundwater becomes surface water. Living Lake’s Groundwater program manager was recently invited by a well owner to hike through the woods near Turtle Mountain in the Crowsnest Pass and provide scientific guidance on how to find and test groundwater springs.

Indicators that a groundwater spring might be close at hand include patches of moisture-loving vegetation, and persistent, slow-moving water at the surface.

These groundwater springs are an important freshwater resource worth protecting because they:

🐤 act like a “canary in the coal mine” for groundwater health,
🐸 provide unique habitats for wildlife, and
🚰 provide clean drinking water.