For many years, Alison was the voice and face of SAPAA. A long time colleague and friend, Patsy Cotterill looks back at Alison’s remarkable life and impact on Alberta’s Natural Areas.

Alison Dinwoodie was a passionate outdoorswoman, a mountaineer, hiker and canoeist, who turned her love of the outdoors and the natural environment into a volunteer career of advocacy for conservation of Alberta’s natural places. 

She came to Canada from her native Glasgow, Scotland in 1972 equipped with a PhD in biochemistry, to take up a position in the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the University of Alberta, where she worked until her retirement in 1994. A scholarship has been set up at the U of A in her name. 

Alison as a Steward of Whitehorse Wildland Park

Alison’s particular love was of the North East slopes south of Cadomin and at the Cardinal Divide. She became a steward of the Cardinal Divide Natural Area, representing the Edmonton Chapter of the Alpine Club of Canada, in 1991, along with the Alberta Native Plant Council (ANPC) as co-steward.

The Cardinal Divide Natural Area was subsumed in a larger protected area, the Whitehorse Wildland Park (WWP), in 1998, and Alison transferred her stewardship to that.

A major concern in that highly accessible montane and alpine area was all-terrain vehicle damage to fragile mountain slopes and creeks. Her interest in opposing this damage extended also to the Cardinal River Headwaters, partly outside the Whitehorse Wildland Park. For her frequent visits and diligent reporting to Alberta Parks she was given an Outstanding Steward Award under the government’s Volunteer Steward Program.

Cheviot Mine Hearings

When the hearings for Cardinal River Coal’s open pit Cheviot Mine came along in 1996, Alison registered as an intervenor and used her mapping skills and detailed knowledge of the area to advocate for preservation of the most sensitive areas.

Alison was involved in 2015 when mine operations began closing down and she attended meetings to discuss reclamation plans. She was adamant that ATVs should be excluded from the west side of the Grave Flats Road, a natural boundary.

Alison’s role has been continued by Kristen Andersen of the ANPC, works with other individuals and groups who monitor and protect the area. 

Wildflowers of Whitehorse Wildland Provincial Park

Spending so much time in the mountains, Alison naturally became interested in its fascinating and special plant life, which she set about recording with photographs, notes and sketches. She conceived the idea of producing a guide book that would be of special help to amateur botanists. With the considerable input of local botanists, Wildflowers of Whitehorse Wildland Provincial Park was published in 2020.

Alison, Stewardship, and SAPAA

As a steward, Alison was also involved in general stewardship matters elsewhere in the province. She was a leading proponent of a support organization to help stewards registered in the Volunteer Steward Program communicate their concerns to government, and when the Stewards of Alberta’s Protected Areas Association (SAPAA) held its inaugural meeting in May, 1999, Alison was in the chair. She devoted countless hours to SAPAA business, serving variously as chairperson, president, recording secretary and director from 1999 to 2016. 

Thank You, Alison

Alison died on September 13, 2024. Unfortunately she was not able to visit her beloved Cardinal Divide in her last years, but her legacy is recognized and lives on with her successors.  With no family in Canada, she was looked after by a group of devoted friends and staff of her care facility until the end. Her friends are organizing a celebration of life in November. 

Thank you, Alison, for your devotion to conservation in Alberta!

Patsy’s Personal Reminiscence

I remember one occasion that demonstrated Alison’s familiarity with mountains and climbing skills. We had been on a long hike along a trail above the valley north of the Cardinal Divide’s East Ridge and were facing a long and difficult bush-whacking trek back.

Alison suggested we simply ascend the slope below the East Ridge and then climb the boulder-strewn cliff to the top of the ridge. I was skeptical of the suggestion. My acquaintance with the East Ridge had always been from the top, admiring the vast landscape to the north and west or climbing gingerly down to a narrow ledge to investigate tiny saxifrages. Yet Alison went on to confidently guide us over the boulders, beloved by hoary marmots, and up the final steep face. From the ridge top we faced a short, downhill walk to the Cardinal Divide parking lot and then to our cars.