Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
Quick question: how many lakes are there in Jasper National Park? Sure, you know the big ones 鈥� Lake Edith, Lac Beauvert, the Valley of the Five Lakes 鈥� but how far does your jaw drop when you hear that there are more than 1,700 lakes out there for you to take in?
While you鈥檙e out there taking in the spectacular freshwater scenery, take a few pictures too.
July is Lakes Appreciation Month, and both the Government of Alberta and Living Lakes Canada are encouraging people to enjoy the natural splendor that surrounds us all.
鈥淟akes are a summer weekend destination where many Alberta families connect with nature and enjoy swimming, fishing, boating and water sports,鈥� said Minister of Environment and Parks Whitney Issik in a press release.
Issik noted that the Government of Alberta's Water for Life strategy has guided its commitments to manage and safeguard water resources since 2003.
鈥淥ver the coming year, we鈥檙e working with other sectors to renew the 10-year action plan. By collecting feedback from partners and learning from our successes and challenges, we鈥檒l better inform our efforts toward managing lakes and furthering our goals of safe, secure drinking water, healthy aquatic ecosystems and reliable, quality water supplies for a sustainable economy.鈥�
One way to show your appreciation of our plentiful lakes is to participate in a photography contest. That鈥檚 where Living Lakes Canada makes a splash. It hopes to bring more people into the fold of monitoring lakes and keeping tabs on how healthy they are.
鈥淏y simply taking a photo of their lake and capturing all of the biodiversity and the climate change impacts, which are becoming more visible on our freshwater lakes in Canada鈥� we also have this opportunity for them to take that extra step and do temperature monitoring, look for invasive species, get more informed about the threats of aquatic invasive species, and then also the human impacts: pollution, algal blooms, increased development, and recreation as well, which are seen impacts on our lakes,鈥� said Living Lakes Canada鈥檚 program co-ordinator Camille Leblanc.
Until July 31, people can submit their lake photos in three different categories: Most Biodiverse, Most Impacted and a Kids鈥� Category for children 12 and under. The online submission form can be found at or sent by email to [email protected].听
All photo entries will be displayed in an online gallery on the website. That鈥檚 where members of the public can vote on their favourite pictures. There will be prizes for the three favourite photographers and to the judges鈥� three favourites as well.
Living Lakes Canada is a B.C.-based national non-profit that works towards the long-term protection of Canada鈥檚 freshwater bodies. It鈥檚 affiliated with Germany鈥檚 Global Nature Fund鈥檚 Living Lakes International, a global network whose mission is to enhance, protect, restore and rehabilitate freshwater areas everywhere.
Lakes aren鈥檛 just places to go fishing, Minister Issik added. They play a crucial part of vibrant ecosystems as habitats to a multitude of fish species. They also help to support a diverse range of wildlife.
鈥淐onservation of our lakes is a shared responsibility,鈥� she said.
鈥淎lberta Environment and Parks works alongside municipalities, Indigenous knowledge keepers, non-profit organizations, watershed stewardship groups and local landowners. Together, we provide education, share watershed management practices, support water quality monitoring and help keep our lakes clean and free of invasive species.鈥�
The Lake Biodiversity Photo Challenge is the sister event to the National Lake Blitz, where hundreds of community volunteers monitor their favourite lakes using monitoring tools to help track climate change impacts. Information on that can be found at .
