Working together for water: the Loblaw Water Fund

I’ve often told the story about my first canoe trip in Algonquin Park, a seminal experience that inspired and shaped my passion for Canada’s wilderness, and particularly its fresh waters.  It’s a story that many Canadians can relate to, that personal connection with the rivers and lakes that dominate our landscape.  It’s the kind of story that I’d like every Canadian to have, the kind of story that can help connect citizens across the country to their local watershed.

Canoeists paddle on an Algonquin Provincial Park lake, Ontario, Canada.  © Frank PARHIZGAR / WWF-Canada
Canoeists paddle on an Algonquin Provincial Park lake, Ontario, Canada. © Frank PARHIZGAR / WWF-Canada

It’s that connection that we’re helping to create by establishing the Loblaw Water Fund, a new granting program for charities working in watersheds across Canada.  The fund will help ensure that Canada’s waters become and stay healthy, making them available for all to use and enjoy.  It will also help Canadians feel invested in their local waters by giving them opportunities to participate in caring for these rivers, lakes and wetlands.
© Emily Giles/WWF-Canada
© Emily Giles/WWF-Canada

This fund is made possible thanks to a three-year commitment from Loblaw Companies Limited, using partial proceeds from the charge-for-plastic shopping bag program in Loblaw stores, which has reduced the number of plastic shopping bags from their stores nationally by more than six billion since 2007.  More, it is part of Loblaw’s long-term partnership with WWF and their commitment to helping raise awareness about environmental issues and engage Canadians in the solutions to those issues.
© Rebecca Spring/WWF-Canada
© Rebecca Spring/WWF-Canada

The 2014 Loblaw Water Fund is supporting nine projects across Canada, projects focused on taking action to conserve and restore ecosystems, conduct essential research, and improve habitat conditions for freshwater species.  Many of these efforts also provide important opportunities for communities to both learn more about their watersheds and get involved by volunteering to do anything from fish tagging in Toronto’s Humber River to monitoring river health at sites across Quebec to restoring habitat along Lost Shoe Creek on Vancouver Island.
Learn more about all the projects and how you can get involved at wwf.ca/waterfund.
  Dickson Falls, Fundy National Park, New Brunswick, Canada. © Greg STOTT / WWF-Canada
A moose cow (Alces alces) and calf in the Tuchodi Lakes, located in the northern Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada © Tim Stewart / WWF-Canada

All of the projects selected will make a valuable contribution to improving the health of their watersheds.  It’s an important complement to the work WWF is doing with our Freshwater Health Assessments, which help us understand the health of our waters nationally.  Together, these two efforts will help ensure that we reach our goal of having all of Canada’s waters in healthy condition, so they can provide a solid foundation for our communities and our economy for generations to come.
That’s an ambitious goal, and only possible through collaboration.  Canadians are stewards to some of the worlds’ most extensive and precious water resources – it’s our responsibility and our privilege to help them thrive.  The Freshwater Health Assessments help us to identify the most critical regions; the Loblaw Water Fund allows us to get involved in those places, so together we can make a difference in the watersheds that need us most.