‘Building Capacity for Community Aquatic Biomonitoring on Alberta’s Eastern Slopes’ is an ambitious grassroots project embarking on developing the very first CABIN reference model for Alberta’s Eastern Slopes - an invaluable aquatic monitoring tool whose benefits will ripple out into the community and be useful to First Nations and community biomonitoring groups, academic researchers, and all levels of government. By developing a robust model and building capacity for biomonitoring in local First Nations communities and watershed stewardship groups, this multi-year initiative will reduce economic barriers, increase social capital, and improve aquatic biomonitoring across the headwaters of Alberta.