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NOVEMBER 17, 2023

 

How do you merge the landscapes of environmental education and tourism? RiverWatch has the answer.

RiverWatch, an award-winning environmental non-profit, has proven that it’s not only possible for charitable organizations to thrive in the competitive tourism and hospitality sector, but also to make a profound impact while fostering better stewards of our rivers. 

This past summer, the launch of EcoFloats, in both Edmonton and Calgary marks another historic milestone in our 28-year journey. This new guided-river-rafting and tourism adventure in Alberta’s major urban markets has not only raised RiverWatch’s public profile but also highlighted our commitment to water conservation and river awareness. Finishing the season with glowing reviews and 75% of float dates sold out (including the popular Feast and Float riverbank culinary experiences), EcoFloats has established RiverWatch as an emerging leader in both Edmonton and Calgary’s tourism and hospitality space. We are not just making waves but leading the way towards a sustainable future for our rivers.

2023 was busy year on many fronts.

The EcoFloats program represents our most recent endeavour in our ongoing mission to engage more individuals with our extraordinary rivers and watersheds. Over the past three decades, RiverWatch Science Floats have consistently been the preferred choice of science programs for junior high and high school teachers, facilitating water science and watershed education along Alberta’s rivers. Once again, this past year our dedicated team of RiverGuides made a significant impact by providing nearly 10,000 junior high and high school students with memorable water science experiences through our science floats. This past year was also a busy one for our CreekWatch program. We recruited a top-tier leader to head up the organization’s province-wide Citizen Science water monitoring program (welcome Michelle DeBruyne!), piloted a new CreekWatch school program and ensured that over 15 local watered groups and communities had the science kits needed to monitor thier local creeks and rivers.

Thank you to those that made 2023 possible.

This year would not have been possible without our incredible staff. Our gratitude goes out to our dedicated team of river guides and environmental science students for making 2023 a standout year. We also want to thank the hundreds of teachers who continually choose RiverWatch for their students’ science experiences. 

Special thanks to our partners including EPCOR, our presenting sponsor in the Edmonton area for being a transformational partner both our school programs and EcoFloats. Additionally, massive thanks goes to the City of Calgary, and Nova, NSERC, AIDA and our other partners in the Calgary area for making our school science programs, and EcoFloats possible in Southern Alberta. 

We also wish to thank our friends at TransAlta for monitoring, regulating and keeping us up to date daily on the flow rates for the Bow and North Saskatchewan rivers. This is a critical element of our daily safety protocols ensures the safety, comfort and well being of our students, teachers, guests and staff on river.    

We’re also grateful to our safety partners, Mountain Equipment Company (MEC) and Kenwood Canada, for providing the apparel and equipment essential for keeping our and staff connected and safe on the river.

We are back on the rivers in April! See you then.

Jay Ball – Executive Director