Scroll down for a list of organizations you can get involved with in the Bow Valley who are working towards promoting conservation and advocating for the environment.
To request for your organization be added to the list, please contact Avery Stashko.
Banff Isn’t Disposable
BID is a pilot reusable container program launched in collaboration with the Town of Banff and food & hospitality businesses throughout the town. The goal of the program is to reduce the amount of single-use container waste and to validate a reusable scheme for Banff in the long run.
Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley
The Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley empowers community leadership on environmental challenges. They do so by providing high-quality environmental education programs to both children and adults and by actively seeking community members’ participation, guidance, and in-depth collaboration in planning and executing conservation programs. Their current work addresses two major challenges affecting the Bow Valley: human-wildlife coexistence and climate change and they also lead research to understand whether their efforts meaningfully change public knowledge, attitudes, and actions about conservation and nature.
The BIBV operates three main programs:
The WildSmart Community Program promotes a culture of safety and respect for our wild neighbours. Through diverse education and training programs, WildSmart staff and volunteers teach youth, residents, local businesses and visitors how to coexist with grizzly bears, cougars, wolves, elk, coyotes and other wildlife. WildSmart also seeks to tackle some of the challenging “human dimensions” issues related to wildlife-related communications, attitudes, and behaviours.
Through community-led projects, workshops, and newsletters, the Bow ValleyShift: Climate Transitions program inspires residents and businesses to take action on climate change and arms them with the tools to do so.
The Future Leaders: Youth Environmental Education program is making it easy for teachers to teach about wildlife and climate change, emphasizing Indigenous perspectives and student conservation action. This K-12 education program seeks to link curriculum-based wildlife and climate change education with peer-to-peer learning across First Nations and Settler communities. They use an interdisciplinary approach to build students’ knowledge, skills, and a sense of purpose as community change-makers.
Banff Zero Waste Trail
Banff’s Zero Waste Trail program empowers businesses and residents to help eliminate garbage to landfill by 2050. Through engagement with residents and businesses, educational tools and resources, and recognizing local Trailblazers, the program strives to mobilize the community to move toward zero waste.
Bow Valley Clean Air Society
BVCAS is a non-profit Society based in Canmore, Alberta, Canada that envisions the Bow Valley region to have the highest air quality free from sources of air emissions negatively affecting people, the environment and the climate. Their Mission is to improve and protect the air quality in the Bow Valley and minimize regional contributions to climate change.
Bow Valley Climate Action
Bow Valley Climate Action is an Alberta registered non-profit society. Formed in 2018, it is a volunteer-run, and meet monthly to discuss ideas and collaborate on initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions emanating from, or spurred by activity in the Bow Valley region. They do this through advocacy, events, and seeking ways to support local decision makers in implementing climate friendly policies and programs. Currently, they are focussed on buildings and transportation, as these have been identified as producing the majority of greenhouse gas emissions in the Bow Valley.
Bow Valley Green Energy
Bow Valley Green Energy is a grassroots, socially responsible organization that aims to facilitate the creation of community-owned renewable energy generation projects in the Bow Valley. The Cooperative believes that Albertans can have an inclusive and prosperous local economy while contributing to a healthy environment.
To truly make a difference in the fight against climate change everyone must benefit. As a member-owned cooperative, they install renewable energy projects – like solar, geothermal, hydro or wind — that create local jobs, support local businesses, and pay dividends to local investors. This clean electricity displaces grid-supplied energy, reducing the carbon intensity of the AB grid and shrinking the Bow Valley’s carbon footprint.
Bow Valley Naturalists
A group of nature enthusiasts, advocates and scientists in the Bow Valley who have been active in learning about local ecosystems and advocating for their protection for over 50 years. They acquire and disseminate knowledge on natural history, host events and public meetings, inform members and the public about environmental issues and advocate concerns to the government and other stakeholders. They strive to protect, preserve, and stimulate better appreciation for natural ecosystems in the Bow Valley through education and advocacy.
Yellowstone to Yukon
Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) Conservation Initiative formed in Kananaskis Country in 1993. Headquartered in Canmore, this group’s mission is to connect and protect habitat from Yellowstone to Yukon so people and nature thrive. To achieve their vision across those 2,000 miles (3,200 km), Y2Y protects core habitats, keeps these habitats connected, and inspires others to engage in similar work.
Y2Y’s role is to set the context for regional conservation work by providing the vision for a healthy Yellowstone to Yukon landscape, and to bring partners together to achieve as a network what none can accomplish alone. Collaboratively, these groups knit this landscape together from one jurisdiction to the next.
Y2Y highlights and focuses on local issues that have implications for the region as a whole. This includes projects in Canmore, Banff and Kananaskis Country as well as on the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains.