CHESTERMERE – A fundraiser that has been taking place in Chestermere for a decade will return once again this Feb. 11, and tickets are still available.
The banquet is organized yearly by the Chestermere chapter to raise funds for Ducks Unlimited, with the money providing the funding needed to fuel environmental projects such as wetland protection initiatives and other conservation efforts in the area and across the province.
Craig Bishop, Head of Environment Services for Alberta, said that Ducks Unlimited raises money through corporate philanthropy and through grass roots fundraisers such as the upcoming banquet in Chestermere.
He said that the funds raised go toward a broad spectrum of programs, as Ducks Unlimited works on many different initiatives across the province.
“A lot of the funds go toward restoration projects where we do physical restorations of wetlands and uplands and associated waterfowl habitat areas,” he said. “We’ve done a few major projects close to Chestermere in the last few years, with Weed Lake being the biggest one.
“We were able to restored 1,600 acres of wetland out there, with an additional 1,500 hectares of planned component around it,” he said.
Last year, the Bulls Head Conversation Area, southeast of Medicine Hat in the Cypress Hills, was one of Ducks Unlimited’s key projects. They purchased 1,500 acres of native habitat and restored around 30 hectares of wetlands there. Bishop said that they try to key in on areas where waterfowl populations are highest, which are areas that will benefit most from the dollars spent.
Besides restoration projects, Ducks Unlimited dollars go toward policy initiatives with the Alberta government and many municipalities.
“We are quite active with the M.D. of Rocky View and their policy initiatives to help them with planning when they’re ready to start a development so they can better plan where a development is going and how it’s going to affect wetlands,” Bishop said. “When developers or oil and gas groups impact wetlands in any way they have to compensate for their loss, and we help to regulate that for the province.”
Bishop said that in order to continue with wetland restoration, area conversation and policy initiatives in Alberta, Ducks Unlimited relies on help from communities like Chestermere.
The local fundraiser will be held on Feb.11 at the Chestermere Recreation Centre. There will be a dinner, as well as a silent auction and live auction . The live auction features a live auctioneer, and numerous vacation packages and other exciting items will go up for bid. Cocktails and raffle sales will begin at 5:30 p.m., with dinner at 6:30 p.m., and the auction to follow.
The event is for adults only, and tickets are $50 each, or $425 for a reserved table of eight.
For tickets, contact Steve Best at 403-237-3455 or Carol Smailes at 403-272-7170.
