About the Land Stewardship Centre of Canada

The Land Stewardship Centre of Canada (LSCC) is an independent, not-for-profit, charitable organization.  The LSCC was founded on an ecological principle that generally states, the greater the number of interactions in a system, the less waste and more efficient use of energy, translating into greater stability in the system. Applying this principle, the LSCC brings together diverse stakeholders to work on common priorities for achieving sustainability on the landscape.

We are an action-oriented centre for developing partnerships - with agriculture, industry, government, institutions and community-based organizations - for conservation programs, projects and exchanging knowledge that will best serve the public in achieving the vision of environmentally sustainable land management.

Just as Nature is healthier when ecosystems are maintained in all their rich diversity, so too are project initiatives stronger and more successful when they foster partnerships that bring together a wide spectrum of individuals and organizations with different ideas and expertise, but with one common purpose in mind: working to find the best ways of sustaining healthy landscapes for generations to come - our long-term economic prosperity, social well-being and all plants and animals depend on it!

Based in Alberta, Canada the organization was established on October 1, 1996 "under provision of Part II of the Canada Corporations Act as a corporation without share capital (not-for-profit)". It is also registered under Alberta's Business Corporations Act as a non-profit company. The organization is a registered charity in Canada (# 88921 6297 RR0001).  The Land Stewardship Centre is administered by a 5-7 member volunteer board, guided by a steering council and operated by core staff. Centre staff have experience in natural resources project management, biological research, strategic communications and public education.

Our Vision

Society demonstrates a stewardship ethic and an understanding of healthy ecosystems in its land-use practices.

Our Mission

 To facilitate stewardship by improving understanding of healthy ecosystems, supporting community stewardship, and strengthening policies that affect resource use.

Our Goals

1. To build knowledge about ecologically sustainable land use policy and practices
2. To share and exchange information and knowledge with stewards and society
3. To support and encourage community stewardship
4. To strengthen policies to advance stewardship and promote sustainable land use

Steering Council (2007)

Gary Sargent (Manager Resource Access, CAPP)
Shawn Wasel (Director of Environmental Relations, AlPac)
Madelyn Todd (Executive Director, Urban Development Institute – Alberta)
Craig Quintilio (SRD Assistant Deputy Minister)
Dave Kay (Alberta Operations Manager, Ducks Unlimited Canada)
Dr. Brad Stelfox (Forem Technologies)
Dr. Lee Foote (Renewable Resources, UofA)
Dr. Vic Adamowicz (Rural Economy, UofA)
Karen Geertsema (CRCC Director - Lesser Slave Lake Indian Regional Council)
Don Ruzicka (Iron Creek Watershed Improvement Soc.)
Wilhelm Vohs (cow/calf operator, Spruce View area)
Barry Worbets (Senior Fellow, Canada West Foundation)
Steve McIsaac (Executive Director, Inside Education)

Board of Directors

Gordon R. Kerr, President
  
David A. Westworth, Vice-President, M.Sc., P.Biol.
David Westworth is a wildlife biologist with 35 years of experience in wildlife research and management, habitat assessment, environmental impact assessment and environmental planning. David is currently Vice-President of Westworth Associates Environmental Ltd., an environmental consulting company based in Edmonton, Alberta. He has conducted major environmental studies in all regions of Canada as well as internationally. He previously served as an advisor to the Province of Alberta’s Natural Resources Conservation Board, participated in the drafting of Alberta’s Forest Conservation Strategy, and served as a member of the Canadian Dams Association and the Dams and the Environment Committee. 		 
Jim Gendron, Secretary-Treasurer
Jim Gendron is pleased to be a Board member with the Land Stewardship Centre of Canada, an entrepreneurial, forward thinking organization that lives the organization definition of stewardship – “Service before self-interest." Jim has been a Board member since 2003. Since graduating from Macdonald College of McGill University in 1974, his career has spanned occupations in the public sector - provincial park planning and operations (Prince Edward Island and Alberta); resource management and coordination of public land decision leaders (St. Paul, Alberta); tourism planning (Edmonton, Alberta); and the private sector - business planning and financial assessment; community tourism planning; public involvement; meeting planning, design and facilitation; and management consulting. Jim has been the principal with LTG Consulting in Edmonton, Alberta since 2006.
  
Pamela Wight, Director
Pamela Wight is Executive Director of the Edmonton and Area Land Trust, a conservation organisation. As a geographer with bio-physical and socio-economic degrees and a certificate in environmental management and planning, Pam has a strong background in conservation. She worked 7 years with the provincial government, as well as the private sector, industry, and not-for-profit and community organisations. Pam built her own successful consultancy, and worked across Canada, and in every global geo-region. Her clients included UNEP, the UNWTO, the ITC, WWF and Conservation International. Pam was on the Coordinating Committee of the Alberta Conservation Strategy, and on the board of the International Ecotourism Society.
  
G. Burn Evans, Director  
Denise Hammel, Director  
Jason M. Unger, Director
Jason Unger joined the Environmental Law Centre (ELC) as staff counsel in 2005. Jason’s current areas of focus include water law, public land use law and policy, conservation tools on private lands, and administrative law. Prior to joining the ELC he practiced in Calgary and Edmonton focusing on litigation, regulatory and administrative law. Prior to entering his legal career, he worked in the field of biology following completion of his B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Winnipeg.		  

Staff

Brian Ilnicki - Executive Director
brian@landstewardship.org

Ernie Ewaschuk - Co-Chair: Strengthening Stewardship – Investing at Every Step, the 4th National Stewardship and Conservation Conference
ernie@landstewardship.org

Kristina Dembinski- Communications
kristina@landstewardship.org

Amrita Grewal - Project Research Intern
amrita@landstewardship.org

Michelle Riopel - Alberta Stewardship Network Program Coordinator
asn@landstewardship.org

Wallis Johnson - Alberta Stewardship Network Watershed Grant Administrator
grant@landstewardship.org

Dawn Doell
Administration Assistant 
dawn@landstewardship.org 
Green Communities Guide Project Lead
gcg@landstewardship.org

Conservation Land Registry - clr@landstewardship.org