Wetland Training Packages

Launched in June 2021, the goal of this project is to increase awareness, engagement, and grow the capacity related to wetland conservation through sustainable forest management in Alberta. This work is supported by Project Partners: Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, Millar Western, Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), West Fraser, Western Canada Sustainable Forestry Initiative Implementation Committee, and Weyerhaeuser.

To support the project goal, DUC is assembling training packages with resources on both wetland conservation and sustainable forest management. The resources are a combination of publications by DUC, SFI and the Forest Management and Wetland Stewardship Initiative (FMWSI). Each training package will be printed on SFI-certified paper and will be available at no cost (valued at $180 each) to user groups that may be unfamiliar with these resources, and/or may have an opportunity to develop respectful and mutually beneficial relationships/dialogue. The user groups this project is prioritizing to contact first are forestry students and First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities in Alberta.

Benefits to recipients

The training packages will include:

1. A hardcopy of the Alberta Wetland Classification System Field Guide
2. A hardcopy of the Guiding Principles for Wetland Stewardship and Forest Management Practitioner Guide
3. A hardcopy of the Wetland Best Management Practices for Forest Management Planning and Operations
4. Free enrollment in DUC’s online course “Boreal Wetlands 101”
5. SFI’s “A Guide to Green Jobs in Canada: Voices of Indigenous Professionals” and their Green Jobs Personality Quiz

The DUC guides listed above are user-friendly resources to learn more about wetlands and sustainable forest management in Alberta. While the guides can be downloaded, hardcopies of the DUC guides are very useful for field work. Topics covered by the guides include:

• A visual field guide to identify and classify wetlands based on the Alberta Wetland Classification System
• An overview of the interactions between boreal wetlands and forests and what these interactions mean for forest managers
• A compilation of best management practices to incorporate wetland stewardship into forestry planning and operations

Over 5000 people have enrolled for the Boreal Wetlands 101 course, learning about boreal wetlands from the comfort of their home/office. The course provides an introduction to boreal wetlands, information on wetland ecology, hydrology, and ecosystem goods and services and challenges that wetlands may pose to your work (e.g., safety, construction) as well as wetland avoidance and minimization strategies.

About the Guide to Green Jobs in Canada: Voices of Indigenous Professionals: Project Learning Tree Canada’s Guide to Green Jobs in Canada: Voices of Indigenous Professionals is a free downloadable 60-page booklet featuring first-person stories from 12 First Nations and Inuit leaders working in the forest and conservation and parks sectors across Canada. The Guide is available in four languages, including Anishinaabemowen, Plains Cree, French, and English.

PLT Canada’s Find Your Green Job Online Quiz: What’s a Green Job? And what does it take to work in one? With Project Learning Tree Canada’s Green Jobs Quiz, students can answer a series of personality type questions and then be matched with the career paths that are best suited for them.

Package recipients will be able to directly ask DUC staff questions, comments, suggestions, etc., regarding the materials in the training packages.

Project Schedule

Off the Desk and Into Practice: Wetland Training Packages Follow Up Workshop from Wetland BMP Knowledge Exchange on Vimeo.

Contact Us 

For more information about this project, and/or if you identify as a priority contact and are interested in the training packages, please contact : 

Catherine Brown
Conservation Programs Specialist
Ducks Unlimited Canada
c_brown@ducks.ca