Three panel members answer questions after their presentations. (L to R) Megan Hanacek, Val Schaefer and Dana McDonald
At our Annual General Meeting on June 13th, there was a lively discussion following our three informative panel presentations. The panel theme was: “A River Runs Through It: The value of scientifically defensible, evidence-based decision-making for effective stewardship.”
Val Schaefer (Restoration of Natural Systems Program, University of Victoria) started us off by talking about the importance of science-based decision making. He argued that we need to recognize that environmental stewardship is an intervention into a natural ecosystem. Although the intention is to do good and reestablish ecosystem functioning, if it is not done properly and is informed by science, it can cause harm.
Megan Hanacek (Forest Stewardship Specialist, Assoc. of BC Forest Professionals) spoke about the role of the forest professional in stewardship and the importance of evidence-based decision-making. She also highlighted the role of the Association of BC Forest Professionals and the responsibilities of each professional to the public, their employer/client, other association members and the profession as a whole.
Dana McDonald (Environmental Stewardship Coordinator, Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation) talked about different ways Vancouver is using to engage people in stewardship in urban parks. She spoke about the different stewardship strategies the City’s Park Board has (on urban forestry, birds, and biodiversity) and the Environmental Education and Stewardship Action Plan.
Celebrating stewardship
Heather Pritchard (left) and Jenna Falk (right) pose with their Stewardship Champion postcards, created as part of our Canada 150 project.
We also celebrated our 11 Stewardship Champions, selected as part of our Canada 150 Creating Stewardship Legacies initiative. The initiative is delivered in partnership with Give Green Canada.
We were fortunate to have two of our champions in attendance, Jenna Falk and Heather Pritchard, who spoke about their work and what motivates them to be involved in stewardship.
Postcards for our 7 featured champions were distributed to participants at the meeting.
2016-17 Highlights
We also distributed a 4-page document which summarizes our work over the last fiscal year. It includes highlights of our work in our three program areas: Green Shores; Wildlife and Species at Risk; and Strengthening Stewardship
Check it out (click on image)!
