The BC Conservation & Biodiversity Awards celebrate the 2023 Award recipients and their important conservation-based initiatives in British Columbia

Created in 2020, the BC Conservation & Biodiversity Awards granted a sum of $225,000 to the 2023 Award recipients.

VANCOUVER, BC, May 24, 2023 /CNW/ - The BC Conservation & Biodiversity Awards are pleased to announce the twelve Award recipients for 2023. The recipients are BC based charities honoured for their work contributing to the improvement of the natural environment of BC and the preservation of its wilderness and biodiversity. The Awards focus on land and ocean-based initiatives, clean air and water, climate change, and science-based studies.

The 2023 Award recipients and a summary of their conservation initiatives:

• Wildsight to create a community-wide effort to compile monitoring data & understanding of the Kootenay Bighorn Sheep herd to help in government's ongoing development of the Kootenay Bighorn Management Plan
• Friends of Ecological Reserves Society to ensure biodiversity, habitat and Old Growth protection through scientific research and to hold government agencies accountable e.g. BC Timber Sales observing regional objectives such as protection of the main source of water for Gibsons/Sunshine Coast
• BC Conservation Foundation to enhance habitat for grizzly recovery in southern BC's Monashee Range and the Okanagan Highlands
• BC Conservation Foundation Initiative to Protect BC's 17 Bat Species, 9 of which are at risk, and specifically those species dependent on old-growth or mature trees
• Habitat Acquisition Trust to engage key landowners, land managers, and Indigenous leaders to steward Gary Oak habitat (Victoria & Gulf Islands) utilizing HAT's award-winning adaptive stewardship program
• Be the Change Earth Alliance Society to empower 360 youth (ages 6-18) across BC to take action on freshwater pollution, habitat clean-up and climate change
• Sea Smart School Society to engage Indigenous peoples, youth and the public to improve freshwater quality by reducing harmful substances in freshwater and to directly restore and protect freshwater ecosystem health
• BC Small Wetlands Association to restore a 2-acre wetland in Spallumcheen while promoting sharing of traditional knowledge for indigenous and non-indigenous youth
• BC Wildlife Federation to restore and enhance off channel Coho rearing habitat with groundwater input along the entire Bonaparte River
• Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Society to promote active biodiversity stewardship to enhance and restore important habitats within the communities of the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys
• BC Conservation Foundation East Coast Vancouver Island initiative to resolve urban roadway runoff mortality in salmon and trout which is primarily caused by tire wear toxin (TWT)
• Salal Foundation to protect Old Growth trees and initiative for clean ocean waters in BC on the largest scale, by lobbying governments and the public

The BCCB Awards are focused on funding grass roots conservation projects in British Columbia. Dennis Perry, spokesperson for the Awards, says "We see the Awards as a catalyst for improving our environment and the best way to do this, and leverage our impact, is to spread our funding through a number of projects. Based on the feed back we have been receiving from the twenty-five projects we have supported over the past two years, it is gratifying to hear that we are making a difference." 

The Selection Committee is comprised of representatives from prominent BC academic institutions and conservation-based organizations. This science-based independence makes the BCCB Awards unique in the field of environment and conservation-based funding. Current members represent The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Sierra Club of BC, the Wilderness Committee, The Nature Trust of BC, the Faculty of Environment at Simon Fraser University and the Faculty of Environment at the University of Northern BC.

Applications for the 2024 BC Conservation & Biodiversity Awards are now being accepted through to December 31, 2023. Applications are open to conservation-based charities across BC, and can be made on the BCCBA website. The 2024 Award winners will be chosen by the Selection Committee and announced on March 1, 2024.

Charitable contributions in North America are heavily skewed toward humanitarian oriented organizations versus environmental, with less than 5% of all charitable donations going to conservation and environmental causes upon which all humanity depends. The BCCB Awards are one avenue through which you can support the natural environment as the Awards are made possible through public donations. As the endowment increases, future Awards will also be increased.

The BCCB Awards Foundation is a donor advised fund at Canada Gives, a registered charity and public foundation (Reg # 83306 2144 RR0001). Canada Gives manages the administration and reporting for the BCCB Awards Foundation and issues all grants (awards) once the selection committee has reviewed the applications and provided their recommendations.  To donate and to support conservation efforts in BC, visit the BCCBA website.

SOURCE BC Conservation and Biodiversity Awards