Land Stewardship
Land stewardship involves responsibly managing and conserving natural resources, ecosystems, and landscapes to sustain their ecological health and diversity for current and future generations.
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Provincial Environmental Recognition Program
The Alberta Emerald Foundation is Alberta’s environmental good-news storyteller connecting the province’s environmental leaders and providing a voice to share their positive examples to engage, inform, and inspire others.
ResourceDetermining the Value of Your Trees
The forested areas on lands are often overlooked for their values by many, but these forests and other treed areas often extremely valuable, holding values both in their ability to be sold as a product, and through natural functions that trees can provide while living. This document seeks to introduce you to major values and to help realise the potential that is in these areas.
NewsAbout Traversing Terrain and Experience: Atlas of the Battle River and Sounding Creek Watersheds
By Battle River Watershed Alliance
ResourceAlberta Land Access Guide
The purpose of this guide is to support new and landless farmers to choose a path toward accessing land. In researching and writing this guide, the driving question has been: how have new farmers secured land? There are several different options to consider from leasing and purchasing to community farms and incubator plots – each with its own set of pros and cons.
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Effective Biodiversity Conservation and Municipal Innovation
In Alberta, municipal jurisdiction over the environment, generally, and biodiversity, specifically, is experiencing expansion as a result of amendments to the Municipal Government Act. This project explores the implications of this expansion.
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Environmental Recognition Program
The Alberta Emerald Foundation (AEF) is a unique and necessary charitable organization in Alberta. From celebrating environmental excellence during the Emerald Awards with 12 cross-sectoral categories and independent judges to recognizing the impact, innovation and achievements of Albertans through our Emerald Day events and Eco-Sharing. AEF shares these achievements and connects businesses, organizations and individuals which support environment to make a difference locally, provincially, nationally and internationally.
ResourceAgricultural Lands: Law and Policy in Alberta
Agricultural lands support numerous social, economic, and environmental benefits. In addition to making up an invaluable aspect of Alberta’s heritage and culture, the social benefits of agricultural lands include food security and valued viewscapes. In terms of economic benefits, agricultural lands enable significant contributions to employment and GDP.
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Coping with the Pressures of Fragmentation and Conversion of Agricultural Land in Alberta
A province-wide survey will assess attitudes of Alberta residents and municipal authorities toward fragmentation, conversion, and conservation policy tools. This research will help Alberta’s developers, provincial and municipal governments to better manage the fragmentation and conversion of agricultural land. This project involves two work streams with different deliverables at different dates: one on attitudes towards land use and the different policy tools; the other on the economics of land use change and the GIS planning tools. Final results will be disseminated in parallel.
ResourceRural Routes to Climate Solutions Podcast
Farmers and ranchers can play a pivotal role in building the low-carbon economy of the future. Especially in Alberta, home to one-third of Canada’s agricultural land and two important carbon sinks—grasslands and the boreal forest. The wildrose province also has some of the best solar and wind power resources in Canada.
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Moving from Conversion to Conservation: Stopping the Loss of Agricultural Lands in Alberta
This initiative will look at the challenges and opportunities for moving from conversion to conservation of agricultural lands which will result in a primer on agricultural lands law and policy in Alberta and a gap analysis to identify the legal challenges for conservation of agricultural lands. These reports will be conveyed to government, politicians, stakeholders and interested Albertans and will provide direct advice and support for emerging agricultural land conservation efforts.
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Rural Routes to Climate Solutions – Online Resources and Broadcasting
The project is to create and publish a podcast series and website covering on-farm climate solutions—from solar power to better land management—in order to empower members of the rural community with the tools and understanding to be part of the clean energy economy of the future. This is an extension of an already existing program funded via the Alberta Government Community Environment Action Grant program to provide workshops and learning related to climate-positive agricultural and land-use practices.
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Land Access Strategies for New Farmers in Alberta
New farmers report that land access is the biggest barrier to entry they face. At the same time, older farmers looking to retire are wondering how to transfer their land to the next generation of farmers. This project will support research, consultations and surveys of new farmers, older farmers and land experts to better understand the land access and land transfer context in Alberta. Resources will be developed to support land access for new farmers and pilot workshops will test land access outreach and education approaches for new and older farmers.