PLWA Award
October 25 2022● Volunteers planted more than 3100 plants in the watershed as part of the Caring for the Lake Together program, in addition to 1100 more trees at Bar-V-Nok Ukrainian Orthodox Camp in partnership with AWES
● A demonstration clean runoff garden was constructed at the Mulhurst Bay playground
● A property assessment program and planting resource guide was created
● Cottage owners worked with PLWA staff to assess the clean runoff characteristics of their properties and received landscaping recommendations to make changes to improve water quality
● There were positive examples of shoreline restoration projects that will restore the riparian health, stabilize the shoreline, and slow and filter runoff to reduce phosphorus loading in the lake
● Municipalities incorporated enhanced environmental policies in land use plans and bylaws
● Volunteers monitored the lake for invasive mussels through the LakeWatch and Winter LakeKeepers citizen science programs
● PLWA created an interactive GIS map showing watershed stewardship and water quality monitoring initiatives for Pigeon Lake
● The PLWA Welcome to the Lake program engaged realtors to hand out more than 100 stewardship packages to new residents
● PLWA provided Watershed 101 training for all councilors in 12 municipalities following the 2021 municipal election
● PLWA provided a Land Use Bylaw watershed regulations workshop, with 25 council members and municipal staff participating
● PLWA distributed a Watershed Management in Land Use Bylaw Implementation tool to the 10 Summer Villages around Pigeon Lake
● PLWA’s social Media reach was over 56,000 over Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. PLWA included the hashtag #caringforthelaketogether to share and extend the reach of the stewardship messages.
● The Caring for the Lake Together - Pigeon Lake Watershed Management Plan was named the 2021 Alberta Emerald Award recipient for Water Initiatives
● The Pigeon Lake Watershed Management Plan won the Alberta Professional Planners Institute (APPI) Award of Planning Merit