In this episode, we sit down with Emerald Award winners Defend Alberta Parks & Lacombe Composite High School's EcoVision. Together, we chat about how public engagement can influence solutions to problems that affect people’s lives and how we can use our voices to make a change.

What we're chatting about:

03:57 - Learning about CPAWS and the Defend Alberta Parks campaign

05:40 - “we have just under 500 provincial parks in AB, we were looking at losing 175 of those, that’s 45%”

06:40 - The early stages of the Defend AB Parks campaign

09:33 - The famous Defend Alberta Parks lawn sign!

12:24 - Did the campaign work??

15:25 - How to build a successful public engagement campaign

19:00 - Who is EcoVision?

19:55 - What inspires the EcoVision students to become environmental leaders in their community

23:23 - How EcoVision is helping to get other students engaged with the environment

About our guests:

Defend Alberta Parks

With the help of volunteers and supporters from across Alberta, the goal of Defend Alberta Parks is to ensure the province’s parks remain within the Alberta Parks system and remain protected.

With the help of volunteers and supporters from across Alberta, a plan to delist 175 parks was reversed, and no parks were removed from the parks system in 2020.

Defend Alberta Parks is organized by the Alberta Environmental Network and CPAWS Southern Alberta and Northern Alberta chapters. It is funded by generous donations from Albertans, small businesses, and local non-profit organizations. 

EcoVision

EcoVision's purpose is to grow student leaders through student-led projects. Everything, EcoVision attempts, needs to enhance: 

• ​​Improving Our Environment - improve our air, water, or land
• Enhancing Our Education - supplement the learning of individuals
• Collaborating with Our Community - increase the collaboration and sharing of ideas, skills, and expertise locally, provincially, and globally

Other cool stuff:

Get your Emerald Lifestyle Card and start saving at sustainable businesses across Alberta!