Local conservation project receives national recognition at Water Canada Awards

By Christena Lawrie, CFRC's Broadcast Journalist and Local Journalism Initiative Reporter.

Watersheds Canada is celebrating one of the biggest honours in its 23-year history after taking home the Small Project Conservation Award at the Water Canada Awards. 

The national charity was recognized for its winter walleye spawning bed restoration on Big Clear Lake in Central Frontenac Township. The cold-weather community effort saw staff, volunteers, and partners move 17 tonnes of washed river rock across the ice to rebuild the bed—a crucial site as habitat for Central-Eastern Ontario’s fish species has dramatically declined in recent years.

“It’s a national acknowledgement that community-based conservation really works, and it gives everyone involved a lot of encouragement to keep going,” said Melissa Dakers, Habitat and Stewardship Program Manager with Watersheds Canada, in an interview with CFRC.

Listen to the full story here.