Wildsight wins prestigious eco-award

Real Estate Foundation of BC awards ‘forward-thinking people and organizations’

Wildsight won a prestigious Real Estate Foundation of B.C. Land Award for its Lake Windermere Project.The Land Awards recognize ‘forward-thinking people and organizations – leaders in creating sustainable communities and making B.C. a better place to live.’ 

Wildsight’s Lake Windermere Project was chosen as a finalist in the Non-Profit category, along with three other nominees, including Atira Women’s Resource Society, Simon Fraser University Community Trust, and the Stewardship Centre for B.C. Winners in three categories were announced at the Land Awards Gala on November 18 in Vancouver. At the gala, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. presented the keynote address. Kennedy is one of Time magazine’s ‘Heroes for the Planet.’

“Being selected as a finalist for the Land Awards is an honour in itself,” said Heather Leschied, Wildsight’s Water Stewardship program manager. “But winning it is just thrilling, especially given the quality of the other contenders.”

The Lake Windermere Project, started by Wildsight five years ago, recently handed off its stewardship and public education duties to the Lake Windermere Ambassadors. “Among other supporters, the Real Estate Foundation of B.C. helped to bridge the traditional gap between the environment and business community,” Leschied said. “As a supporter of the Lake Windermere Project, it’s good to know the ‘little lake that could’ did the foundation proud.”

Lake stewardship groups across Canada now look to the LWP—and the Ambassadors—as examples to follow in their own efforts to protect freshwater resources. “The most amazing thing was how much community support the project gathered—without the District of Invermere, the Regional District of East Kootenay, and support from provincial, federal and First Nation governments, and all the citizen stewards, it would not have turned into such a community stewardship success story.”

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About Wildsight • www.Wildsight.ca

Wildsight works locally, regionally and globally to protect biodiversity and encourage sustainable communities in Canada's Columbia and southern Rocky Mountain region. This area is internationally recognized as a keystone to conservation in western North America.

Contact:

Heather Leschied, Wildsight Program Manager, Water Stewardship

250.341.6898 • Heather@Wildsight.ca

Photo:

Heather Leschied, Wildsight; Robert Kennedy Jr., Kat Hartwig, Wildsight; and, Dagmar Hungerford, former CBC Radio host during the private reception for sponsors, nominees and VIP’s held in Chartwell’s Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver prior to the 2010 Land Awards on Thursday November 18.  Photo by Linda Mackie Photography

Real Estate Foundation of BC - The Land Awards Finalists: Wildsight from Novel Pictures + Novel Media on Vimeo.