Reducing waste – Use less toxic materials to limit the amount of hazardous wastes produced. Conserve wildlife habitat on your property and in your community. Using resources responsibly – Conserve resources such as water, minerals and wood by using them efficiently and recycling when appropriate. You can help set stewardship in motion by:Ībiding by environmental regulations – Ensure that business activities, farm operations and personal land use are in compliance with all applicable environmental regulations. Once you make a commitment to becoming an environmental steward, put that commitment into action. Land Stewardship Centre: Become a Steward Listed below are some ways to become a steward from the Land Stewardship Centre: However, being an environmental steward does not only include big changes and projects. In the VRW these groups often include the Vermillion River Watershed Alliance, North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance, Government of Alberta, Environment Canada, municipal governments, landowners and other stakeholders. Given the scope of these example projects, many different groups are often involved in stewardship. This type of stewardship comes in many different forms and is not one size fits all approach. Citizens, watershed stakeholders, and conservation groups know that wetlands and riparian areas must be protected and restored to create sustainable watersheds. These services help people, other living things, and the overall health of natural systems that are linked within watersheds. They store water, manage flooding, retain sediment and contaminants, serve as a habitat and food source for wildlife, maintain biodiversity, and offer leisure and natural scenic beauty. Wetlands and riparian areas are ecosystems that perform vital ecological services in a watershed.

Stewardship in a watershed (often interchangeable environmental stewardship) is the recognition of a collective responsibility to retain the quality and abundance of land, air, water and biodiversity, and to manage this natural capital in a way that conserves all of its environmental, economic, social and cultural values. Most basic definition of stewardship is “the conducting, supervising, or managing of something especially the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.” ( Merriam-Webster). In preparation for our upcoming “Stories of Stewardship” Webinar this November, this month’s blog post is covering what stewardship is, as well as what it looks like at the local scale in the Vermilion River Watershed (VRW).

Responsible stewardship meaning