Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Southern Alberta chapter’s mission is to safeguard, connect, and expand parks and wilderness through education and engagement in collaboration with Albertans. The grant from Alberta Ecotrust will improve their ability to communicate with and educate Albertans on complicated ecological issues regarding Alberta’s forests. Increasing the public’s understanding of complex ecosystem issues is an important step for public engagement in forest management issues.

The goal of this project is to improve the management of Alberta’s forests, especially in the headwaters region of Alberta. With improved forest management, Albertans can be more successful in conserving the natural and recreational value of Southern Alberta’s forests. This requires a common understanding and vision of forest management that prioritizes ecosystem and community objectives. CPAWS Southern Alberta aims to clearly communicate and increase understanding amongst their community partners, members and social media followers on key forest issues such as fire, sourcewater, climate change, and forest management.

The project aims to increase awareness and knowledge of ecological processes and issues in the forests on the Eastern Slopes of Alberta. This includes:

1. completing a set of short science-based mini-papers on topics of interest such as water, fire, climate change and forest management practices;
2. developing communication tools such as maps, infographics, gifs, stickers, and bookmarks;
3. distributing information at public events, and social media; and, 
4. using papers and infographics to engage community partners in forest science.

 The success of this initiative will be measured through engagement with the suite of communication tools to be distributed both in person and online.