Wildsight named 2012 BC Hydro Community Champions!

Wildsight's water stewardship programming has received a generous gift, just in time for the holidays, thanks to you. With the support of our membership, Wildsight was selected as one of five organizations to receive a $10,000 grant from BC Hydro.

How the donation will help... Read more �

Wildsight presents an east Kootenay tour of award winning film Peace Out

Request for Proposals: Columbia Basin Water Smart Coordinator

The intent of this RFP is to engage a qualified water conservation and planning specialist to provide overall coordination to participating local governments through the Columbia Basin Water Smart Initiative (Water Smart). The work of the Water Smart Coordinator will focus on providing intensive support to communities around water conservation planning and implementation. The Water Smart Coordinator will manage, coordinate and support the implementation of Water Smart Action Plans. The Water Smart Coordinator will also provide oversight and work collaboratively with the Water Smart team, comprised of the Water Smart Engineer and the Water Smart Communication and Outreach Coordinator, leading on all aspects of Water Smart.

The RFP can be viewed here or please contact us using the information below.

Deadline: February 8, 2013 4:30 p.m. MT

Contact: Erin Posthumus 1.800.505.8998

Job Posting: Manager, Water and Environment

The Manager, Water and Environment will be responsible for developing, monitoring and reporting on CBT's Water and Environment strategic plans. The Manager will also be responsible for planning, developing, managing, monitoring and evaluating Water and Environment programs and initiatives as well as conducting related research and analysis activities. The Manager reports to the Director, Sector Initiatives. Extensive travel is required.

A detailed description of duties, skills and qualifications can be viewed here or please contact us using the information below.

Deadline: February 8, 2013 Noon PST

Contact: Debra Stewart Human Resources Coordinator 1.800.505.8998

Community Initiatives and Affected Areas Programs

The Community Initiatives and Affected Areas Programs (CIP/AAP), CBT's oldest programs, support projects identified as priorities within individual communities.

The CIP/AAP are funding programs designed to help address the needs of Basin communities. The programs are flexible and able to accommodate individual processes and they incorporate community-based funding decisions to better meet local priorities. Program funds are allocated on a per capita funding formula and are distributed once a year to CBT's local government partners: the regional districts of East Kootenay, Central Kootenay and Kootenay Boundary, and the City of Revelstoke, Town of Golden, Village of Valemount and Ktunaxa Nation Council.

As of April 2011, the programs will be supporting communities with $3.6 million annually, commencing a five-year funding commitment. There will also be a new $30,000 minimum (based on combined CIP and AAP funding) per incorporated municipality, regional district area or First Nation band. All areas receive CIP funding, while those most affected by dam construction under the Columbia River Treaty (those around the Arrow, Kinbasket, Duncan and Koocanusa reservoirs) also receive AAP funding.

Applications for funding through these programs are made directly to the local government delivery partner in your area.

CIP/AAP Fact Sheet

Who Can Apply:

Basin residents and organizations.

How to Apply:

Regional District of East Kootenay

Deadline: Monday, February 18, 2013, 4:30 p.m. MT

Guidelines: RDEK Guidelines

Application: RDEK Application Form

City of Revelstoke

Deadline: Monday, February 18, 2013, 4:30 p.m. PST

Guidelines: Revelstoke Guidelines

Application: Contact the City of Revelstoke.

Village of Valemount

Deadline: TBD

Guidelines: Valemount Application Guidelines to follow.

Application: Valemount Application Form to follow.

Regional District of Central Kootenay

Deadline: Monday, March 4, 2013, 4:30 p.m. PST

Application: RDCK Application Form

Town of Golden

Deadline: Wednesday, February 6, 2013, 4:30 p.m. MT

Guidelines: Golden Guidelines

Application: Golden Application Form

Regional District of Kootenay Boundary

Deadline: TBD

Application: RDKB Application Form to follow.

For information on how to apply, contact your local government.

Deadline For Applications: Deadlines vary from one region to another, but generally applications deadlines are in February or March and decisions are finalized in April or May of each year. Check with your local government for current deadlines in your area.

MEC Grants

Application Deadlines

Due to the high volume of applicants, late submissions will not be reviewed.

• Land Acquisition, Capacity Building, Advocacy and Awareness, and Access and Activity Spring Cycle Application deadline: March 10, 2013 (midnight Pacific Time) Applicants notified: Mid-May 2013
• Grassroots Product Donations Applications are accepted anytime and take up to six weeks to process.
• Expedition Support Application deadline is February 1, May 1, and October 1 (midnight Pacific Time) and takes up to six weeks to process.

Questions?

Please review our FAQs . If you have additional questions please call or email:

Email: community@mec.ca Telephone: 1.866.632.3863

Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia - Green Building Grants

2013 Green Building Grant application forms for the 2013 Vancity/Real Estate Foundation Green Building Grant Program are now available. The application deadline is April 2nd.   

This co-granting program focuses on:

• Building renovations/retrofits that demonstrate leadership and can inspire similar projects or initiatives with positive environmental impacts or benefits
• Regulatory changes that advance green building development and practice
• Education to increase the understanding and use of practical green building strategies

In 2013 there will be $200,000 available for Green Building Grants; individual grants can be up to $50,000 each.

For information on past grants, take a look at the "year" sub-pages listed on the left side of the main Green Building Grant page on our website.

2013 grant application forms:  Application form  &  Budget form 

Questions? Contact Leanne Sexsmith, Grants Manager: leanne (at) refbc.com  |  604.688.6800 ext 111  |  toll free 1.866.912.6800 ext 111

What makes people change? Examine the motivations behind human behaviour and learn about tools for encouraging change. Change-makers in education, public health, social services, waste reduction, environmental conservation, community and charitable organizations will benefit from this fascinating new workshop. Bring your organization's behaviour-change challenges for discussion.

Selkirk College: Nelson, Silver King Campus

1-day course.  $99 per person + HST

9:30 am to 4:30 pm

Friday February 22, 2013

L o r n a   V i s s e r   Principal, Carmanah Strategies (250) 358 2722 carmanah@xplornet.com

Creston Valley Bird Festival - May 10-11, 2013

www.crestonvalleybirds.ca

Wild 10 - Salamanca Spain - October 4-10, 2013

The World Wilderness Congress, now the world's longest-running, public conservation project and environmental forum, is focused on achieving practical results for wild nature and human communities. Find out more online.

Columbia Mountain Institute - May 15/16, 2013

Call for Presentations, Demonstrations, and Mini-courses

New Ways to Use Digital Technologies in the Field 

May 15-16, 2013 Selkirk College, Castlegar BC

Call for presentations closes on March 15, 2013

Registrations open April 1, 2013. Space limited to 150 people.

Workshop description 

New technologies are changing the way that research on aquatic, terrestrial, and human ecology is being carried out. Increasingly, people are taking smartphones, tablets, and other devices into the field to increase their productivity. Citizen science and social media are now becoming effective ways to increase data collection and collaboration. We will offer two days of presentations, posters, hands-on demonstrations, a small trade fair, opportunities for networking with experts, and a workshop summary to help you follow-up on the new things you've learned. Who is this workshop for? CMI events attract a multidisciplinary group of people. This workshop will draw researchers, technicians, natural resource practitioners and managers, academics, IT staff, and members of stewardship groups.

We request offers of presentations, posters, andhands-on demonstrations or mini-courses.

Presentations 

We'd like presentations that describe your use of a new technology or a new application of technology. Please talk about why you used that technology and how you used it; and give less emphasis to your project results. (You are welcome to bring along a poster with details about your results because we are interested in that, too - but your talk should be mostly about the technology you used). PostersWe'd like posters about your use of technology or new applications of technology. Or, if you are an oral presenter, your poster could address your entire project, in addition to just the technology aspect of it.Hands-on demonstrations and mini-courses We'd like offers of hands-on demonstrations or mini-courses about new digital technologies for the field. These will run on the second day of the workshop. We'll set up a schedule of what's happening where and when, and people will sign up ahead of time. These will be based out of Selkirk College in Castlegar, and we can use the college facilities. 

Submission Guidelines

View our submission guidelines for oral presentations and posters. To offer a demonstration or mini-course, here is what we need to know. Take a look at our information for presenters for standards, etc. Note that you are required to provide a paper for our workshop summary before the workshop.

Our workshop partners Columbia Mountains Institute is pleased to work with these agencies in hosting this event:

• Selkirk College
• Columbia Basin Trust
• Kootenay Association for Science and Technology
• Summit Environmental Consultants.

Would you like to become an event sponsor, or bring a commercial exhibit?  Please read our guidelines, then call the CMI office at (250) 837-9311.

WetlandNetwork

On behalf of the North American Wetlands Conservation Council (Canada) I am pleased to announce the launch of WetlandNetwork - connecting people; sharing information. WetlandNetwork is a new website providing a single window into all types of wetland information useful to Canadians.

Available in both official languages, WetlandNetwork enables those involved with land development, planning and conservation to make informed decisions by making it easy to find wetland information resources from authoritative sources as well as share their documents with those who need them.  

Land use planners, environmental assessment (EA) practitioners and EA project proponents will find WetlandNetwork particularly useful as it provides access to more than 700 wetland-related resources such as policies, best practice guides, case studies, technologies and maps.

Virginia Poter, Chair, NAWCC (Canada)