Awards
2006 Ottawa Wildlife Festival Award for
Excellence in Environmental Conservation
Group Award: Friends of the Jock River
The non-profit, volunteer-run Friends of the Jock River was formed to monitor the health of the river and enhance and protect the watershed and its ecosystem. They work cooperatively with many individuals and agencies on a wide variety of projects, are engaged in ongoing habitat restoration, enhancement and monitoring of the area, have planted hundreds of trees to improve bank stabilization and create a more natural forested shoreline, are presently preparing detailed guidelines for all future restoration, mitigation and enhancement projects.
As well, they participate in the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority Stream Corridor Riparian Vegetation Survey by collecting data according to stream survey protocols which help determine the health of the river and its shoreline habitat. They maintain an excellent and informative website, publish a newsletter, participate in a variety of events, hold regular monthly meetings open to non-members, and produce a detailed annual report.
Previous winners were the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club, the Fletcher Wildlife Garden, Baxter Conservation Area, the Ottawa Duck Club, the Land Preservation Society of the Ottawa Valley, the Greenspace Alliance of Canada's Capital (GACC), ACRE (Action Chelsea Respect for the Environment), the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (Ottawa Chapter), and the Club des ornithologues de l'Outaouais.