Earthworks For Cold Climate Water Resiliency, Webinar and Field Day
2020-08-24 15:00 - 18:00, 2020-08-26 15:00 - 18:00, 2020-08-27 15:00 - 18:00, 2020-09-12 09:00 - 16:00 (America/Edmonton) | Coen Farm, Box 165, Ferintosh, Alberta, T0B 1M0, Canada
Curious about how to develop water harvesting features on your property?
Coen Farms, Adaptive Habitat and AWES will be hosting a two part workshop on how to build and vegetate Earthworks and Water Harvesting features on your property!
Join Takota Coen from Coen Farm and Rob Avis from Verge Permaculture for a 3-day webinar hosted on zoom August 24, 26 and 27, 2020 from 3-6pm. To follow the webinar series, AWES, Takota Coen and partners will also be conducting a 1 day tour and field day September 12, 2020 from 9-4pm at the Coen Farm.
Learn how to design and implement low tech, low cost, nature-based earthworks that can build more effective and efficient water cycles on your land. The webinar series will include a mixture of presentation and activity time, and the field day at Coen Farm will include a farm tour, willow staking, and a ceremony conducted by a Maskwacis Elder. Participants will have an opportunity to observe previously constructed water harvesting earthworks on the farm, including swales, dams and wetlands.
Participants must have attended the webinar series in order to attend the field day.

All mandatory COVID-19 restrictions will be in place for the field day, including maintain social distancing, hand sanitizer provided onsite, and food will not be provided for the day.

Please register on Eventbrite before August 22, 2020. Cost is $30 for the webinar series, and $40 for the combined webinar and field day.

Shelterbelt and Ecobuffer Design
2020-08-25 10:00 - 14:00 | County of Grande Prairie Fire Service Station 14, 10808 100 Avenue, Clairmont, Alberta, T0H 0W1, Canada
The Agroforestry and Woodlot Extension Society and the County of Grande Prairie invite you to join us for a workshop about Shelterbelts and Eco-buffers, and how they can be designed to provide ecosystem services to your land!
This workshop includes:

Designing and establishing Shelterbelts and Eco-Buffers
How to conduct a tree planting site assessment
Customizing your design to provide pollinator habitat, fruit production, water quality enhancement, and more!
Site visit to a local shelterbelt (weather permitting)

Participants will have a chance to develop and design a planting plan using worksheets and other resources provided by AWES

FREE Boxed lunch and refreshments provided , followed by a site visit to a local shelterbelt – please dress for the weather conditions

Register on eventbrite! There is no charge for this event, however registrations are required. Space is limited and COVID protocols will be in place.
For more information, please contact the Agriculture Department at The County of Grande Prairie.
Call 780-532-9727 or email jhenry@countygp.ab.ca or kwinterford@countygp.ab.ca

Stream and Pond Field Day
2020-08-27 09:30 - 14:00 | Beaver County
At this fun and educational outing you’ll be able to learn more about your water body, and what you can do to improve its health.

This event will be a fun and educational outing where you’ll be able to learn how to assess the health of your riparian area, identify common species, develop a management plan and cut, plant and grow your own willow cuttings.
Join the Agroforestry and Woodlot Extension Society and Cows and Fish for a hands-on outdoor workshop along a creek near Tofield and learn how to diagnose and improve the health of your stream or pond.
Topics Included:
• Cows and Fish’s Riparian Health Assessment process;
• plant identification;
• how to conduct a tree planting assessment; and
• how to plant willow cuttings!
Register on Eventbrite! This event is free but registration is mandatory as space is limited. Participants are asked to dress for the weather and for light hiking. As this is a remote, outdoor event there will not be any available washroom facilities. (Black Nugget Lake Campground Day Use area with washroom facilities & water are a short drive away if needed). This event will NOT be hosted at the Beaver County Office. Location details will be provided following registration.

Streambank Restoration Project - Video Release
2020-12-15 12:00 - 13:00
Join us for the , and learn about our efforts to increase resilience of Alberta’s land!
Water- while critical to humans and their activities, its actions can also cause problems, such as erosion. Water is fluid, needs room to move so that it can help us by recharging groundwater, providing habitat and providing drinking water.
Every spring overland flows race towards the stream on Graham Powell’s 3rd generation La Glace farm. He knew he was losing land due to erosion. The stream could not access a floodplain. Restoration was needed and the AgroForestry & Woodlot Extension Society, Alberta Conservation Association, the County of Grande Prairie, Cows and Fish and the Mighty Peace Watershed Alliance joined together with Watershed Artisans and Graham Powell and began to restore the Niobe Creek Watershed. We are excited to share the process with you all!
On December 15, 2020, you will have the opportunity to learn more about this restoration, the organizations behind the project, and their current and future endeavors to increase riparian resilience, improve and provide wildlife habitats, reduce flood risk, and provide sustainable solutions to heal Alberta’s land, water and the riparian areas in between.
There will be a chance to win a $50 doorprize at the end of the session. We look forward to celebrating this project with you!

Woodlot Workshop Webinar Series
2021-02-02 17:00 - 2021-02-11 19:00
Join the Agroforestry and Woodlot Extension Society (AWES) for a fun and informative four-part virtual series on Woodlot Management!

About this Event

This four-part webinar series will take place on February 2nd, 4th, 9th, and 11th @ 7:00-9:00PM MST, via Zoom!
At this workshop you will learn:

Best management practices on forested lands
How forested lands contribute economically and environmentally
Management to maximize ecological and economic value
Maintenance & restoration leads to healthier woodlots

AWES staff will present this webinar series of Best Management Practices on Forested Land in 4 parts:

February 2nd: Overview
February 4th: Woodlot Tree Services
February 9th: Woodlot Assessment
February 11th: Woodlot Management Plans

***Please register on EventBrite:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/woodlot-management-webinar-series-tickets-137328239461
We can’t wait to see you there! Please contact us at info@awes-ab.ca with any questions or inquiries.

Event Postponed
2021-02-24 19:00 - 2021-03-24 21:00
This interactive online course will help farmers, ranchers, and other land managers in Alberta make the most of their riparian areas.
Event Postponed – Next Offering April 2021
About this Event
Riparian areas – those wet areas around water bodies – are often overlooked and underrated. Yet with proper design and management, they can become the most productive parts of the landscape, magnets for diverse wildlife, and moderators of flood and drought cycles. In this interactive online course, the Agroforestry and Woodlot Extension Society (AWES) and Cows and Fish will help Alberta land owners and managers maximize the potential of their riparian areas to provide diverse benefits for their lands and watersheds.
Course Details
The course will be implemented over Zoom (links and details provided to participants) in five sessions, 7-9pm on Wednesday from February 24th to March 24th. Each session will include a mixture of live presentations, activities, and Q&A.
In the first couple of sessions, participants will learn what riparian areas are, how riparian areas function, and how this functioning is affected by the health of the riparian area. Participants will then be given tools to assess the health of their own riparian areas, along with a framework for developing a management plan for it.
In the third and fourth sessions, participants will learn about the range of goods and services healthy riparian areas can provide, such as water quality, flood and drought resilience, biodiversity habitat, forage, biomass, food, nutrient cycling, pest suppression, pollination, and more. Participants will then learn how management and restoration activities can support these goods and services. Content will be customized according to the interests and backgrounds of participants.
Participants will be expected to spend 2-4 hours outside of session time in developing their management plans. In the fifth session, participants will have the opportunity to share draft versions of these plans. Course facilitators and other participants will provide feedback and advice.
Upon completion of the course, alumni can request to receive free consultation services from AWES and Cows and Fish staff over email, over the phone, or in person. These services will be provided on a first come first serve basis as long as funds are available.
Course Cost and Funding
The fee for this course is $20 per household unit. This fee has been greatly reduced, as the majority of course costs are being covered by a grant from the Watershed Resiliency and Restoration Program (WRRP), administered by Alberta Environment and Parks. The primary objective of WRRP is to increase the natural ability of the province’s watersheds to reduce the intensity, magnitude, duration and effects of flooding and drought through watershed mitigation measures. Widespread implementation of the riparian restoration and management practices taught in this course has the potential to mitigate flooding and drought throughout the watershed while also providing direct benefits to landowners.
*Note: This course is only available to individuals or organizations who own or manage land in the province of Alberta. Examples of eligible participants include but are not limited to farmers, ranchers, acreage owners, or the staff of municipalities or land trusts.

Ecobuffers & Shelterbelts
2021-03-01 07:00 - 21:00, 2021-03-05 07:00 - 21:00 | Online
Shelterbelts and ecobuffers can prevent soil erosion, mitigate temperature swings, capture snow for water retention or to prevent blowing snow on roadways, sequester carbon, provide habitat for pollinators and other wildlife, and so much more. But where do you start? How do you pay for it? How do you maintain it for the long term?

Join us for a free webinar series March 1 and 5, from 7-9 MST. We’ll cover the basic trunk of knowledge for shelterbelt and ecobuffer design on March 1 and take a deep dive into the roots March 5. Sign up at https://ecobuffers.eventbrite.ca.

Planting for the Future
2021-03-03 18:00 - 19:00
Join AWES & Sturgeon County in a webinar designed to share best practices for planting shelterbelts on our Alberta Landscape.
Some of the topics we will cover include:

Site preparation and seedling planting for shelterbelts
Shelterbelt planning
Planting eco-buffers as an alternative
Using fruit bearing varieties in your shelterbelt

Register with Sturgeon County.

Earthworks for Cold Climate Water Resiliency
2021-03-23 15:00 - 2021-03-30 18:00
Drought and flood are two sides of the same coin; A broken water cycle is the root cause for both.

About this Event

Join Takota Coen from Coen Farm and Rob Avis from Verge Permaculture for an online workshop that will cover earthworks and construction topics.
You will learn how to design and implement low-tech, low-cost, nature-based earthworks that can build more effective and efficient water cycles on your land. Gain insight on revegetation techniques and traditional uses of native plants.
The workshop will take place in three sessions: March 23, 25, and 30, from 3-6PM.
Cost: $30/ person. Students & Maskwacis community members, please contact AWES for reduced rates.

** Please register on Eventbrite! Link below**
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/earthworks-for-cold-climate-water-resiliency-tickets-144287972209

Pollinator Projects Webinar with Wheatland County
2021-03-31 10:00
Learn more about

The value of pollinators and the benefits of establishing pollinator projects
Identifying locations for pollinator projects on marginal lands
Forage species selection, establishment, management & longevity
Funding options for pollinator projects

With speakers
Grant Lastiwka, Forage Specialist
Luke Wonneck, Agroforestry Project Specialist
Register at
http://bit.ly/3tkvALE
For information call 403-333-6943 or email Sarah.Schumacher@wheatlandcounty.ca.

Shelterbelts & Ecobuffers in Central & Southern Regions
2021-04-08 19:00 - 21:00
Shelterbelts and Ecobuffers can help to prevent soil erosion, reduce extreme temperatures, capture snow for water retention or to prevent blowing snow on roadways, sequester carbon, provide habitat for pollinators and other wildlife and so much more.
Join AWES, Wheatland County, Kneehill County, Municipal District of Bighorn in a discussion on the importance of shelterbelts & ecobuffers with a focus on Central Alberta and Alberta’s Grasslands.
Register at http://bit.ly/3tkvALE

Riparian Management Workshop
2021-04-13 18:00 - 2021-04-27 21:00
This interactive online course will help farmers, ranchers, and other land managers in Alberta make the most of their riparian areas.

About this Event

Riparian areas – those wet areas around water bodies – are often overlooked and underrated. Yet with proper design and management, they can become the most productive parts of the landscape, magnets for diverse wildlife, and moderators of flood and drought cycles. In this interactive online course, the Agroforestry and Woodlot Extension Society (AWES) and Cows and Fish will help Alberta land owners and managers maximize the potential of their riparian areas to provide diverse benefits for their lands and watersheds.
Course Details
The course will be implemented over Zoom (links and details provided to participants) in five sessions, 7-9pm on April 13, April 15, April 20, April 22, April 2, 2021. Each session will include a mixture of live presentations, activities, and Q&A.
In the first couple of sessions, participants will learn what riparian areas are, how riparian areas function, and how this functioning is affected by the health of the riparian area. Participants will then be given tools to assess the health of their own riparian areas, along with a framework for developing a management plan for it.
In the third and fourth sessions, participants will learn about the range of goods and services healthy riparian areas can provide, such as water quality, flood and drought resilience, biodiversity habitat, forage, biomass, food, nutrient cycling, pest suppression, pollination, and more. Participants will then learn how management and restoration activities can support these goods and services. Content will be customized according to the interests and backgrounds of participants.
Participants will be expected to spend 2-4 hours outside of session time in developing their management plans. In the fifth session, participants will have the opportunity to share draft versions of these plans. Course facilitators and other participants will provide feedback and advice.
Upon completion of the course, alumni can request to receive free consultation services from AWES and Cows and Fish staff over email, over the phone, or in person. These services will be provided on a first come first serve basis as long as funds are available.
Course Cost and Funding
The fee for this course is $20 per household unit. This fee has been greatly reduced, as the majority of course costs are being covered by a grant from the Watershed Resiliency and Restoration Program (WRRP), administered by Alberta Environment and Parks. The primary objective of WRRP is to increase the natural ability of the province’s watersheds to reduce the intensity, magnitude, duration and effects of flooding and drought through watershed mitigation measures. Widespread implementation of the riparian restoration and management practices taught in this course has the potential to mitigate flooding and drought throughout the watershed while also providing direct benefits to landowners.
*Note: This course is only available to individuals or organizations who own or manage land in the province of Alberta. Examples of eligible participants include but are not limited to farmers, ranchers, acreage owners, or the staff of municipalities or land trusts.

Register via Eventbrite!:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/riparian-management-workshop-tickets-148667028083

Shelterbelt Restoration Workshop
2021-04-20 12:00 - 13:30 | Online
Shelterbelt Restoration Online Workshop. Learn the basics of maintaining your Shelterbelt and Ecobuffer.
Shelterbelts are a common feature across our agricultural landscape. To quickly form a barrier against damaging winds, these linear plantings are often designed using fast growing but, short lived species like Poplar. Learn how to work with your aging shelterbelt and continue to enjoy the trees for generations to come.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shelterbelt-renovation-online-workshop-tickets-151700577511?ref=estw

*POSTPONED*: 2021 Envirothon!
2021-05-01 08:00 - 2021-05-31 17:00
WHAT IS ENVIROTHON?
Alberta Envirothon is held yearly in May The Alberta Envirothon is a high school competition where teams compete on their knowledge of environmental science and natural resources through a series of field stations, written tests and an oral presentation of the team’s solution to a complex environmental issue. One team is crowned provincial champion and is eligible to represent Alberta at the NCF Envirothon (international competition).

The competition is centred on four categories and a changing annual theme:

Aquatic Ecology
Forestry
Soils and Land Use
Wildlife
Annual themes relate to current issues: water management, agriculture, rangeland, soil and water conservation, invasive species, urban forests, non point source pollution or groundwater protection.

The purpose of the Alberta Envirothon is to develop knowledgeable, skilled and
dedicated citizens who are enabled to solve complex environmental issues, act
as stewards of the environment and have a desire to learn more about the environment
and natural resources management.

WHY PARTICIPATE?
Students will:

explore the outdoors and take part in hands-on learning
participate in workshops, learning directly from subject matter experts
learn about careers in environmental science and natural resources
earn up to two high school CTS credits
enhance teamwork and problem solving skills
practice public speaking and presentation skills
earn cash prizes:
1st place = $1000
2nd place = $500
3rd place = $250

Teachers also benefit! Envirothon:

is an effective educational tool that reinforces classroom curriculum and can be connected to a variety of curriculum topics
connects classroom learning with hands-on fieldwork
sets up networking opportunities with like-minded teachers and PD opportunities with environmental professionals

Visit www.albertaenvirothon.org
for registration deadlines
Envirothon 2021 – Bookmark – Water Management_51x152mm_Final

Woodlot Management Basics Workshop
2021-08-26 10:00 - 14:00

Riverbank Corridor Talk & Walk
2021-08-31 10:00 - 14:00

Two Hills Ecobuffer & Watershed Student Workshop
2021-10-01 09:30 - 12:00 | Two Hills Geleta Park, Geleta Park, Two Hills, AB
AWES and the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance will be hosting an outdoor workshop for students of Two Hills. The workshop will be held at a planted ecobuffer developed by AWES in 2020. Students will learn about native pollinators, ecobuffers, and watershed health. Students will also participate in planting seedlings, wildflowers, and wildflower seeds.

BAR-V-NOK Community Planting Day
2021-10-02 10:00 - 15:00 | Camp BAR-V-NOK, Pigeon Lake Ave, Mulhurst, AB T0C 2C0
Come participate in planting seedlings to improve the natural habitat at Camp BAR-V-NOK on the shores of Pigeon Lake. Join the Agroforestry & Woodlot Extension Society, the Pigeon Lake Watershed Association, and the Camp BAR-V-NOK Society for a day of tree-filled fun!

BAR-V-NOK Staking Workshop
2021-10-23 13:00 - 16:00 | Camp BAR-V-NOK, Pigeon Lake Ave, Mulhurst, AB T0C 2C0
Come participate in planting stakes to improve the riparian habitat at Camp BAR-V-NOK on the shores of Pigeon Lake. This event will be a fun and educational outing where you’ll be able to learn about riparian health, common riparian species, and the benefits of staking!

Wildlife Corridors Workshop
2021-12-02 19:00 - 21:00 | Online
Interested to learn about how wildlife moves through Alberta’s landscape? Join AWES for an exciting presentation and find out! This workshop will explore the importance of connectivity between natural areas on properties, and how woodlots, shelterbelts, eco-buffers, and riparian buffers play such an important role in supporting biodiversity.
Please register online through Eventbrite or email info@awes-ab.ca.

Shelterbelt & Snow Management
2021-12-14 19:00 - 21:00 | Online
Shelterbelts and ecobuffers can mitigate temperature swings, capture snow for water retention or to prevent blowing snow on roadways, provide habitat for pollinators and other wildlife, and so much more. But where do you start? How do you pay for it? How do you maintain it for the long term? Join us to learn about shelterbelt design basics!
Register online through Eventbrite or email info@awes-ab.ca.

Partner Meeting: Blindman River Stewardship Committee
2021-12-16 19:00 - 20:00 | Online
Join us to celebrate the restoration work done on the Blindman River over the past few years, and help us envision the future of the Friends of the Blindman River Stewardship Committee!
Please email us at info@awes-ab.ca to be added to the attendee list. A Zoom link will be sent out prior to the event.

Agroforestry and Erosion Control
2022-01-27 10:00 - 11:00
This webinar, in collaboration with Rural Routes to Climate Solutions, will be discussing the role of Agroforestry in reducing soil erosion, with a particular focus on the Alberta landscape. Join us to learn about how you can incorporate agroforestry into your farming practices to keep your soil where you need it most.
If you are an agricultural producer who is tackling or looking to prevent soil erosion on your land, this webinar is for you. Register on Eventbrite today!

Agricultural Service Board Meeting
2024-01-24 08:00 - 17:00

NAIT Hiring Fair
2024-03-19 09:00 - 13:00 | NAIT- Feltham Center (CAT), 11763 106 ST, Edmonton, Canada
Are you looking for a summer job? Do you love the outdoors and trees? Then maybe a position with AWES is right for you! Come say hi and bring your CV to us at the NAIT Job Fair on Tuesday, March 19, 2024.
We look forward to meeting you!

Lacombe County Spring Tune Up 2024
2024-03-21
