LAND STEWARDSHIP CENTRE OF CANADA

At Land Stewardship Centre, we facilitate partnerships, provide services and develop resources that help engage, inform and enable people and organizations to become better stewards. We work directly with individuals and organizations who own, have a vested interest in, or who use and are responsible for managing land and its associated natural resources.

Engaging. Informing. Enabling.

In order to engage, inform and enable, we develop the tools and information resources that land owners and land managers need to become better stewards. We work collaboratively with various organizations and all levels of government to support the development of stewardship practices, programs and policies. We also help facilitate the growth and development of provincial and national stewardship organizations and initiatives by providing the administrative support and services that support their grassroots efforts.

Programs and Services Provide:
i. Alberta Stewardship Network (ASN) serves the needs of grassroots stewardship groups by identifying funding opportunities, supporting the development of volunteer recruitment and training opportunities, and providing access to relevant, current and useful stewardship resources.
ii. Conservation Easement Registry (CER) is a (free) searchable, online database containing information on registered conservation easements in Alberta. This online service assists land trusts, government agencies and private landowners in planning, delivering and reporting on the status of conservation easement projects.
iii. Conservation Land Registry (CLR) is a single source database of information on conservation agreements and projects in Alberta. This online service assists natural resource companies by providing information that helps them in meeting development requirements. (LSC is currently in the process of enhancing the CLR by incorporating new datasets and a new version is expected to launch in Fall 2018).
iv. Green Communities Guide is a case-study based resource developed to help growing communities plan and implement strategies to conserve water, protect water quality, preserve agricultural land, and protect critical open spaces and wildlife habitat.
v. Green Acreages Guide resources were developed especially for acreage, hobby farm and recreational property owners, to help them develop and implement stewardship practices that conserve and protect the valuable natural assets, such as air, land, water, wildlife, associated with their properties.
vi. Investment Framework for Environmental Resources (INFFER™) is an effective decision support tool used for assessing and prioritizing projects to address diverse environmental issues and challenges such as reduced water quality, biodiversity, conservation planning and land degradation. The purpose of using INFFER™ is to achieve the highest value for environmental and natural resource outcomes that is possible with available resources. (Developed in Western Australia, Land Stewardship Centre is the only accredited provider of INFFER in Canada and has performed several INFFER case studies with the Government of Alberta and municipalities in Alberta).
vii. Online Resource Centre provides a one-stop-shop for information, news and resources related to environmental stewardship in just about every resource format available – from books to videos, and fact sheets to websites.
viii. Stewardship Directory is an online directory of community stewardship groups, non-profit organizations, businesses and government programs. The directory enables people and organizations with a stewardship focus to connect with each other to share their experiences and lessons learned in stewardship and natural resource management.
ix. Watershed Stewardship Grant: Since 2005, the Watershed Stewardship Grant Program, made possible through the Government of Alberta’s Water for Life Strategy, has provided funding to the province’s stewardship community to support their grassroots efforts and community-based projects.