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Photo by Brian Coffey - "Crocuses on Sofa Mountain"
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Cheers to Spring
- it should be here any day now!
"The first day of spring is one thing,
and the first spring day is another.
The difference between them is
sometimes as great as a month."
- Henry Van Dyke (1852 - 1933)
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SAVE THE DATE! 
OWC AGM - Thursday, June 26, 9 am - 1 pm
- more details in April E-Newsletter
Renew Your OWC Membership!Deadline for renewal is April 30, 2014. Why be a member of the OWC?- Receive discounts on OWC activities and events
- Run as a member-at-large on the OWC Board of Directors
- Vote for who you want to represent you as a member-at-large on the OWC Board of Directors
- Be a part of the OWC community by choosing to be involved in a project or by volunteering. Contact us if you're interested or want more information.
Water in a Changing Climate: Citizen's PanelThirty people with diverse backgrounds and points of view gathered at the  University of Lethbridge on February 22 for a full day of thought-provoking discussion around water and climate change. The day was valuable because it allowed people to hear perspectives that are different from their own and to really think about how a decision would impact other people and what trade-offs would be made. The dialogue resulted in fresh ideas and advice to the OWC, governments and broader community on how to respond to climate change. A video and report will be available soon and OWC will be sure to share the results with you! Thank you to all the participants and organizers!
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Here at the Oldman we are NOT giving up hope that spring will return!!! As difficult as it was to get 15 people to attend a workshop about gardening while it was -30oC outside, we still managed to do so and I think those hard-core gardeners were glad they showed up!
Steve MacRae, local plant expert and owner of  Prairie Xeriscape Designs, led a full day workshop that covered everything from what types of plants will work best in our semi-arid environment (and still look beautiful), to determining how to best work with your soil type, to even introducing a few things that one wouldn't consider when landscaping, such as 'Winterscaping' (seeing as we have a lot more winter than summer, shouldn't our yards look amazing and have a purpose during the long snowy months?!!).
For more info on Xeriscaping visit our website: www.prairieurbangarden.ca
SAVE the DATE! Tour local Xeriscaped gardens in Lethbridge FREE Self-Guided Garden Tour Saturday, June 21st Starts at Helen Schuler Nature Centre Presentation by: Local plant expert Steve MacRae Details and Registration to follow soon at: www.oldmanbasin.org or contact: Leta Pezderic, OWC Program Coordinator at 403-381-5801 or leta@oldmanbasin.org Lethbridge Home and Garden Show - March 12- 15th, 2014  The Home and Garden Show sure brought the community out of hibernation!! The theme of our booth this year was "Watersheds, Stormwater, and Xeriscaping - what are they and how are they connected?"
A BIG THANK YOU to all the volunteers who helped out at the OWC booth - this year we took a different approach to "manning" our booth - we wanted to shift from just being an organization handing out information, to instead being PEOPLE BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS.
The Oldman wants to get to know the community members and what their thoughts are about WATER. The combination of having a booth focused on water and a boil water advisory for Lethbridge and area issued at the same time, sure led to a lot of great conversations! I find it very interesting (and somewhat concerning) how comfortable we get with our natural resources...and that it isn't until that resource is threatened that we truly realize how precious it is! I urge you to read Shannon's blog posting where she discusses the recent boil water advisory in Lethbridge and how it has brought into focus two things: how dependent we all are on upstream users to do a good job - and how connected we are in a watershed. |
 "Social Media is like any other language. It can be either familiar or foreign,
depending on your fluency in it"
This first month has just flown by! I hit the ground running (I have to if I'm going to keep up with this crew!) and started to create a Communications and Outreach Plan for the OWC. The first step was to establish some baselines - and that was quite a job. Who are we connecting with? How? When? It involved some tricky computer coding, working with the talented Barry at Blue Horizon Computer Consulting & Service, but I have created a tool that will allow us to track our efficacy and outreach on a long-term basis.
Now that we know where we are starting from, it's an easier task to determine where we want to be in 6 months' time - and how realistic those expectations are. Our plan is focused on relationship building. It will position us very well to communicate clearly, effectively and with a wide outreach to both our loyal friends and to new audiences. In our next newsletter, I will tell you about the second phase of our Communications and Outreach plan. Right now, getting social media in place is the first step toward opening new face-to-face conversations. For example, did you know that 90% of adults have a Facebook account - and most run it ALL DAY LONG? Especially the 18 - 27 year-olds; and that is a demographic that the OWC has not yet fully addressed. But even the AVERAGE female spends 8.8 . . . read more
You are invited! Share your pictures, stories, music and musings. If YOU would like to be part of the Communications and Outreach team, please do get in touch. Even an old-fashioned phone call will do: 1 587 224 3793. I'd love to hear from you! - Anna |
 So, we've decided here at the OWC, to let our readers and supporters know a little more about what we do and the  people behind the OWC. As most of you, I'm sure, can understand, these are big questions! I can start by saying I feel extremely lucky to be a part of the Oldman Watershed Council. It's like... you mean, I get to get up every day and do what I care about and contribute to making a difference for water in southern Alberta? I suppose it is in my blood...
My grandfather and great grandfather were irrigation engineers in southern Alberta. When I first came out to Lethbridge from Saskatoon to find a place with my grandpa 11 years ago, we passed Seven Persons, and he joked "You know, I remember when it was only seven persons here when we had a camp to build irrigation canals in this area - I was one of the seven persons!" ... read more. If you would ever like to get in touch, please call me at 403-382-4708 or email me at andrea@oldmanbasin.org. I'd love to hear from you and discuss how we can work together! |
Have you checked out the new OWC blog yet? Click here to view it and let us know what you think! We would love to hear from voices up and down the watershed and welcome submissions to the blog. Email your blog to oldmanwatershed.newsletter@blogger.com.
If you are aware of events and activities happening in and around your community that relates to our watershed, please send me an email so that we can include them in our monthly E-Newsletter. It is emailed monthly around the 15th, please have your information to me one week before. |
In the News
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 | | Roundtable on the Crown of the Continent |
"The Roundtable on the Crown of the Continent"
a new 10-minute film on the Roundtable, a regional forum focused on connecting people to sustain and enhance culture, community and conservation in the Crown of the Continent.
For more information, view media release here or click on the video clip on the right.
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| Events and Activities in and around the Basin |
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The Transformation of Southern Alberta
Dr. Brad Stelfox
Wednesday, March 26th, 6 pm
University of Lethbridge - Anderson Hall - AH 118
Dr. Stelfox is a well-known Landscape Ecologist and passionate about land use in Alberta. Watch as Alberta's landscapes are transformed right before your eyes from untouched to present to future. See how current land use is impacting water quality, fish and wildlife. The software from his company has been used extensively in cumulative effects studies. Click here for more information.
Recycle your old electronics to help the environment and support the 4-H!
Drop off is Saturday, April 5, Sobey's Uplands (northside) between 9 am and 3 pm.
They will also take old tires and car/truck/tractor batteries - click here for more information.
"Bats in Your Hair and other Wildlife Myths and Misconceptions"
Wildlife in the Wind Speaker Series
Tuesday, April 1, 12 noon - 1 pm
Community Meeting Room, Lethbridge Public Library
The Alberta Chapter of the Wildlife Society will present Lorne Fitch, professional biologist and adjunct professor with the University of Calgary, speaking on "biodiversity myths". Lorne will explore some of the myths and misconceptions and provide insight into how they may impede our ability to protect and sustain biodiversity. He will discuss ways to turn these around to improve our vision for the future of biodiversity.
The event is free, and everyone is welcome. Click here to view poster.
Western Sky Land Trust
and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra Cocktail Reception
Thursday, May 1st An elegant cocktail reception in celebration of the Trust, followed by a stellar CPO concert: "Ode to Joy," Beethoven's 9th Symphony. See attached poster for details.
 | | Introducing Alberta Tomorrow |
Alberta Tomorrow is a free, on-line, educational land-use simulator that he
lps users understand the impacts of a set of human activities on a suite of environmental indicators in the past, present and future. The site shows how an increase in certain land-uses, and/or disappearance of wetlands and natural landscapes has an impact on water quality.
Short videos help users make connections between human activity and the quality of the air, land and water.
Watch this short video clip to learn more or visit their website.
Build Your Own Small-Scale Aquaponic Systems Workshop
May 23-24, 2014
Lethbridge College, Aquaculture Center of Excellence
Lethbridge College continues the tradition of providing practical Aquaponic training. This time we are responding to the overwhelming interest in small-scale, home-based aquaponic systems by offering a two day, hands-on, build-your-own system workshop. For more information, click here.
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2014 Conferences, Courses & Workshops
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Flooding on Rural Landscape: Responsibilities and Liabilities
April 4, 8:30 am - 3:30 pm, Cochrane Ranchehouse Workshop themes are: Understanding Flood Dynamics, Impacts on Rural Landscapes, Taking a Comprehensive Approach to Planning for Flood Events and Understanding the Social/Political Effects of Flooding. Click here to register or for more information or here for the agenda. Municipal Government Act (MGA) review Planning and Development Technical Session
Wednesday, April 9, 4 - 6 pm, Radisson Calgary Airport Hotel
This opportunity is for planning and development professionals and other stakeholders with technical expertise to focus on how municipalities undertake planning and manage growth in a sustainable way. Click here for details. Land Use 2014 May 7 and 8, 2014 in Edmonton hosted by Alberta Land Institute at the University of Alberta
Registration is now open - for more information click here. June 24 - 25 2014
Alberta Water Council
presents a symposium, "Re-fresh: The Confluence of Ideas and Opportunities on Water Reuse," at Hotel Arts, Calgary. For details, please visit
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| Job Postings |
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Asset Management Technician: City of Calgary, Water Services/Wastewater Treatment click here Land Negotiator: Ducks Unlimited Canada - click hereThe Alberta Conservation Association is seeking a highly motivated professional to fill a one-year maternity leave replacement position (biologist). The successful candidate possesses excellent data analysis skills, is proficient in collaborative project planning and delivery, writing and wildlife inventory and has strong interpersonal skills. Click here for details.
The Friends of Fish Creek are seeking an individual or a team with the necessary skills and qualifications to analyze and interpret Fish Creek water quality data and develop a picture of the health of the creek that can be used in public education, park management and planning and further engage volunteers down the road. The deadline for proposals is April 30th.
Please see the attached posting for details.
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