Who We Are
The Athabasca Watershed Council (AWC), is a registered charity and not-for-profit organization formed in August 2009. We collaborate with academia, industries, environmental and stewardship groups, government at various levels, communities, Indigenous peoples and citizens to provide timely and credible information about the Athabasca River watershed.
Our Vision
The Athabasca watershed is ecologically healthy, supporting resilient communities and a sustainable economy.
Our Mission
To demonstrate leadership and facilitate informed decision-making in the Athabasca watershed by bringing stakeholders and Indigenous peoples together to achieve our shared vision.
Our Values
Water and Ecological Health:
- A blessing and a gift, essential for the environment, economy, society, and the spirit.
Inclusivity and consensus decision-making:
- Building integrity and trust by respecting all points of view including the cultures, knowledge and communities of Indigenous peoples.
Accountability:
- Being responsible, timely, transparent and purpose driven but also allowing for creativity, innovation, and organizational risk taking
Working Towards our Vision
We are working to achieve our vision by:
- Engaging with people throughout the Athabasca watershed to identify water and watershed issues;
- Collecting, analyzing and interpreting all forms of information and compiling it into State of the Watershed assessment reports;
- Developing recommendations to address the issues in an Integrated Watershed Management Plan;
- Implementing the plan via a number of projects and collaborations that build knowledge, foster stewardship, promote best practices and other activities that support a healthy Athabasca watershed that supports resilient communities and a sustainable economy.
Download our brochure to explore our work and understand our cause at a glance.
About Our Logo
The Athabasca Watershed Council logo was created and donated to the Council by Nona Foster, in February 2010. Nona described her work as follows:
“The Athabasca River, as a major River system, starts in the mountains, at Jasper (my native ancestors lived there). The River is influenced by different terrain, forests, prairie, low lands, running north to Athabasca Lake in northern Alberta. It was used as a trade route and by the Native people. I hoped to express this with the drop of water, mountains, forest, river and feathers. Athabasca is an anglicized Cree word meaning ‘grass or reeds here and there’.”
Water For Life Strategy
The AWC is one of eleven designated Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils (WPACs) working in partnership with the Government of Alberta toward achieving the goals of the Water For Life Strategy.
The Goals:
- Safe, secure drinking water
- Healthy aquatic ecosystems
- Reliable, quality water supplies for a sustainable economy.
Read more about the Water For Life Strategy.
Support Our Work
Help us report, plan, facilitate, educate and collaborate to sustain our watershed.
Athabasca Watershed Council
5101 50 Avenue, PO Box 1058,
Athabasca, AB