Kids raise cash for a healthy lake

Young leaders learn about Lake Windermere water stewardship

Invermere, B.C. — What does it take to motivate 25 pre-teens to work year round to raise money for a good cause?

“It takes awareness,” says J. A. Laird Grade 7 teacher Paige Ukass. Jenny Hoffos and Paige Ukass’s Leadership Class held four fundraising events over the school year to raise money for clean water.

“The students are quite aware of environmental issues surrounding the lake that they care about,” Ukass said.

Each year, the leadership class chooses a project to support, and this past year they chose the Lake Windermere Project (LWP). The LWP works to protect and restore Lake Windermere and educate the public about how to keep community waterways clean and healthy.

“We chose to support the Lake Windermere Project because we love the lake, we swim in it, and we need to keep it clean. We are youth in the community taking initiative to keep the lake healthy,” says Mike Helmer.

Beginning with a bake sale in February 2007, the 12 and 13-year-old students continued to raise funds with an Easter raffle in March, a dance in October and a hotdog sale in January 2008. All told, the class raised $350, which went toward interpretive signs to install around the lake. The students helped design the slogan for the signs, which read: Lake Windermere is a community drinking water source. Please help keep it clean.

Lake Windermere supplies drinking water for a number of area communities. Among othersthere are water intakes for this purpose at Windermere, Timber Ridge, Baltac Road and Akiskinook. The lake is also one of the most intensely used water resources in the Columbia Valley. It has suffered a severe decline in fish populations in recent years, including a collapse of the Burbot fishery.

The Grade 7 students went on a field trip to Kinsmen Beach on May 20. Wildsight (LWP) program assistant Kalista Pruden and program manager Heather Leschied taught them about watersheds, non-point source pollution, aquatic ecosystems and the importance of clean water.

Laird students reflected on the trip. Hunter Ede said, “Learning about where our water comes from and how non-point source pollution is getting into our lake was the most important part of the field trip to me.”

“I was shocked to learn that what we put into our lake affects 15 million people downstream,” stated Joelle Wassing.

On June 11, the students were lakeside again to receive a Bronze Level Lake Windermere Ambassador Decal from the Lake Windermere Project and to mark the unveiling of their three interpretive signs.

“I feel honored to be a part of keeping the lake clean for my generation and generations to come,” Macaela Halverson declared when the decal was awarded to the class.

One of the signs is now in place at Kinsmen Beach. James Chabot Provincial Park beach and Windermere public beach will have their signs in place shortly.

Kalista Pruden, of Wildsight’s Lake Windermere Project, said: “These brilliant young adults are set to spread the word about the importance of keeping the lake healthy.”

“The students are very passionate about Lake Windermere,” Ukass added. “They are interested in preserving the lake for years to come.”

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Heather Leschied,
Lake Windermere Project Program Manager
heather@wildsight.ca
250-341-6898

Kalista Pruden,
Lake Windermere Project Program Assistant
hwhc@wildsight.ca
250-341-6898