In the newsletter #48 and at the Annual General Meeting, the SAPAA Board agreed to investigate both merger options with other organizations as well as developing the ‘SAPAA 2.0’ concept. These actions were encapsulated in the following matrix.

1. Merger Discussions
2. So What is SAPAA 2.0 (and Who is AVS)?
3. Four Strengths and Roles
4. An Essence of Time
5. Cost and What Happened
6. Why it Was Worth a Try and a Lingering Risk
7. AVS, SAPAA 2.0 or How to Build a Good Idea?
8. Where to From Here?

In this planning model, the top left option, status quo, would eventually lead to SAPAA folding as members drift off. This leaves the ‘right’ side of the quadrant. These are not mutually exclusive options and the past few months has shown strong interest in a community built and run Stewardship Organization.

Merger Discussions

Two organizations expressed interest in potentially working with SAPAA. Nature Alberta, our old friend and insurance provider, was the first to make contact. There are many points of synergy between our organizations including the similarity between SAPAA 2.0 and programs Nature Alberta is already supporting. The Land Stewardship Centre (LSC) also reached out. They have the organizational structure and they provide administrative services to other organizations.

Exactly what would be merged and who would cover any costs was a common theme with both organizations. This returned us to SAPAA 2.0, but with a twist – Alberta Volunteer Stewards.

So What is SAPAA 2.0 (and Who is AVS)?

SAPAA 2.0 has been a catch-all term and poorly defined. SAPAA proposed another way forward, a consortium of organizations resulting in Alberta Volunteer Stewards (AVS).

While underpinned by technology, SAPAA 2.0 relies on people, community, and sharing ancient and modern knowledge. To do all of this, SAPAA 2.0 is supported by a consortium of like-minded organizations and funders. The Vision Star diagram represents these efforts and guides the organization.

Four Strengths and Roles

A concept paper was distributed prior to a March 6 meeting attended by representatives from the four organizations. Each organization brought unique skills and resources to the table: 

1. Stewards of Alberta’s Protected Areas (SAPAA) brings corporate knowledge, history, and an existing membership base passionate about stewardship.
2. Canadian Birkebeiner Society (Birkie) has a 40-year history of running a complex ski event which focuses on safety, working with partners, and the Alberta Government. 
3. Nature Alberta has experience managing disparate organizations and volunteers who conduct citizen science in the field.
4. The Alberta Government is the landowner and trustee of the protected areas. They would also make available to the program any relevant public records about the sites.

Nature Alberta would be the senior organization with whom the Alberta Government contracts. Nature Alberta sub-contracts to the Birkie to build the safety aspects of the AVS program. Program design, testing and implementation would involve SAPAA and its members. In addition, SAPAA would work to transfer/copy to the subsequent program its records and knowledge to ensure its successful transition to operations. The Alberta Government is the landowner, would support program design, provide existing public records about the protected areas to the program and would provide funds for the project. 

An Essence of Time

A very aggressive and building program was proposed with incremental testing, evaluation, and revisions.

Cost and What Happened

SAPAA, Nature Alberta, and the Birkie were very interested in the idea and expressed interest in future involvement. Non-profits are knowledge- and enthusiasm-rich but cash-poor. To take on the former government Volunteer Stewardship program, the non-profit consortium partners require the immediate and long-term policy and financial support of the provincial government. A costing exercise determined that creating the above program would require about $500,000 over two years and about $300,000 per annum to run.

While the Alberta Government staff members were helpful, supportive, and frank, the funding commitments were well and above something they would be willing to propose within the Ministries with a reasonable chance of success. Further development of the program was recommended and ministry officials observed this was the best idea available to them to date.

Why it Was Worth a Try and a Lingering Risk

The challenges put forth by Ministry officials were reasonable. While the proposal had a very limited chance of success, it was still worthwhile as it generated interest, concepts, and a way forward – in the long run.

During the discussions, it was observed that the government bears the current occupational, health, and safety (OHS) risk for the legacy stewardship volunteers. The absence of a defined program exacerbates this risk.

AVS, SAPAA 2.0 or How to Build a Good Idea?

Taking a very long-term view, the discussions in March solidified what a future program (called AVS, SAPAA 2.0, or something else) would look like. It would have the following features mapped to the five compass elements:

1) Protected Areas

• Updated and maintained website and online descriptions of the protected areas.
• Technical descriptions of the area such as geo-locations, geography, natural features, or sub-regions.
• Safety notes for the area such as the nearest first responders in case of an emergency (medical, fire, conflict, etc.). 
• Human history of the site’s creation, connections to First Nation traditions, subsequent human usage for the site and nearby areas.
• Other relevant or interesting details for nearby residents, visitors, or tourists.

2) Safe and Trained Stewards

• OHS compliance, safety, and emergency response planning for volunteers (or visitors in distress) are incorporated into the program.
• Stewards will bring education, experience, and personal interests to the program.
• Stewards can attain higher levels of knowledge or proficiencies within different technical areas such as natural sciences, technology, visitor management, or education. 
• Volunteers can interact with the program at different levels of engagement, and are encouraged to remain engaged through community and gamification.

3) What is Allowed for an Area

• Working with government officials, stewards assist in communicating allowable, discouraged, and dis-allowed activities within a protected area. 
• Assist through the organization’s website, phone-applications, etc., the communication of these activities to the public. 
• Educate residents, visitors, etc., of the reasons for these uses, the impact of improper use, and the cost and efforts of remediation. 

4) Management of Knowledge

• Create the systems, processes, and technologies to capture, transform, store, transfer, apply data and information generated by the program. 
• Protection of confidential information (e.g., volunteer details, local landowner contacts).
• Taking a digital first approach to the acquisition and management of technology related to the protected areas, volunteers, science, and research data. 
• Developing volunteer and public information material and delivery to explain the history, usage, and state of the protected areas. 

5) Monitoring and Reporting

• Gathering protected area status through a variety of means, for example:
  • Active monitoring through standardized site inspections, plant, and animal counts.
  • Passive monitoring through trail cameras, remote imaging, public reports.
  • Indirect measurement such as car or human traffic counts of in/egresses.
• Gathering both natural and human details such as:
  • Native plant and fauna counts
  • Invasive plant or animal infestations
  • Depth and extent of human-created trails
  • Illegal activities within an area (e.g., dumping, encampments)
• Preparing real-time and periodic reports on the above activities. Provision to the public, Minister(s), and interested parties’ analysis. 
• Provision of information to bona fide researchers, volunteers, and members of the public the open data for the above.

Where to From Here?

SAPAA will need to dust off the merger discussions with Nature Alberta or LSC… or continue to putter along on its own. To support any of these directions, the following 5 action points are proposed for 2024: 

1. Political Engagement. SAPAA (and partners) needs to do a better job of telling the exceptional story of the legacy volunteer stewardship program. This involves communications with the respective Ministers, Deputy Ministers, the Premier, and the public. 
2. Evolving Safety. The 2018 extension of OHS legislation to include volunteers was good in concept and terrible in execution. Working with other organizations, SAPAA will develop safety standards which it will share with members, peer organizations, and practice in field trips.
3. Inspecting Data. Building on its 2023 proof of concept and the above safety efforts, SAPAA will encourage members to visit and submit site inspection reports. Each year, a review of what data is collected will be conducted by SAPAA, peer organizations, and hopefully the Alberta Government. The validity of the data collected will be reviewed with the Government of Alberta and peer organizations. 
4. Revisit Merger. Given that SAPAA has not resolved the underlying issues facing its future, continue discussions with Nature Alberta, LSC, or like organizations.
5. Field Trips and Fun. Finally, SAPAA will run field trips and encourage member and peer organizations to report on their visits. Community will be encouraged as well as sharing knowledge.  

The above activities hopefully will support a future volunteer stewardship program. At a minimum, they give SAPAA members a venue to express their passion and get out into Alberta’s protected areas.