Please join our Executive Director Debborah Donnelly, along with geologist Tako Koning and botanist Karel Bergmann on an exploration of Nose Hill to find prairie crocuses, the first harbingers of spring in Calgary. This adventure is in memory of Margaret Main and Gus Yaki.

AWA has a long history of indoor stair climbing to celebrate Earth Day. This year, come join us outdoors

This family-friendly adventure will challenge you to whatever level you desire! Race your way up the stairs to the top, or take your time to chat with friends and enjoy the view, or help your toddler climb the whole staircase! Prizes will be awarded for the best fundraisers so start collecting sponsorships from friends and family!

More details to come soon!

Learn all about citizen science while also exploring two of the best natural areas around Calgary. This adventure is done in partnership with the City Nature Challenge 2023. Participants will have to chance to learn how to use their phones to identify native flora and fauna while also enjoying a spectacular nature walk.

The City Nature Challenge encourages people to explore their own backyards and discover the variety of species that call them home.

Learn all about citizen science while also exploring two of the best natural areas around Calgary. This adventure is done in partnership with the City Nature Challenge 2023. Participants will have to chance to learn how to use their phones to identify native flora and fauna while also enjoying a spectacular nature walk.

The City Nature Challenge encourages people to explore their own backyards and discover the variety of species that call them home.

Join Benchlands residents Heinz and Kris Unger on a ramble through their rural neighbourhood West of Calgary, which includes wetlands, old-growth forest and amazing views of the mountains. The early flowers will just be blooming and the birds returning to the forest. Discover this hidden gem that few people get the chance to visit.

Come and learn the basics of bird watching at Frank Lake, an internationally recognized Important Bird Area and one of the best places to see birds in Southern Alberta.

It started as Monday Mum Day for two mums who needed a day away from kids, away from work and away from the city to recharge and reconnect with themselves and each other in nature. This year we are inviting every mum to join us over an entire month to find time to find yourself in the wild places near you, share the stoke and raise money for a great cause. And of course…THERE WILL BE PRIZES! See below for some events to get you started.

This Saturday adventure, which begins in Cochrane, is a road trip where we will see various forms of magnificent glacial geology in the Cochrane & Lochend areas and also see a rapidly developing program of hydraulic fracking for oil in the Lochend area.

This lookout is a must for all those AWA members and friends who haven’t done this hike yet. It’s an easy afternoon hike, and although the ‘trail’ is rather just a 4×4 track through an immature pine forest, the main attraction is the 360 degree view from the top which is especially beautiful in the spring (and also in the fall). In addition we can see a live, working fire lookout. This outing also offers a chance to drive up the Forestry Trunk Road and a section of Waiparous Valley Road with opportunities for further exploration, such as the remnants of log dams which were used to flush logs down the Waiparous, Ghost and the Bow all the way to Calgary.

The grasslands are a special and ever-diminishing part of our province’s ecosystem. Our sea of grass is part of the Great Plains that stretches south, thousands of kilometres, into Mexico. And few people know the intricacies of it as intimately as Cliff. From the calls of the pipits and sparrows flitting through the sky, to the tiny, rare plants eking out existence in the harsh soils, these he has spent years working in and learning about this place. Join him for a leisurely excursion along a section of the Milk River Ridge and learn about its inhabitants, its importance and what we can do to help ensure these places exist for our grandchildren.

Join AWA and Cliff Wallis for a unique hike and birding tour out among the grasslands and wetlands of the Wainwright Dunes Ecological Reserve, northwest of Provost. Situated adjacent to the southern boundary of the Wainwright Canadian Forces Base, this protected area is a unique combination of ecosystems. Aspen groves and sand dunes are interspersed with marshy bogs and the valley of Ribstone Creek. The Ecological Reserve has a diverse bird life representing the interface between boreal and prairie including both upland and wetland habitats.

This half day urban field trip invites participants to discover the huge variety of extraordinary fossilized creatures in the walls of some of the buildings in and around downtown Calgary. These fossilized creatures are examples of some of the earliest forms of life and are found in 450 million years old rocks quarried from the famous Tyndall Formation in Manitoba. Tako Koning, an experienced geologist, has made a study of the fossils. He will help the group identify the creatures and share details about their lives.

This field trip is an all-day road trip beginning with visiting Frank Lake, near High River, which is a shallow water slough where hundreds of bird species have been identified. We will then drive past and view the nearby large abandoned Mazeppa gas plant. Thereafter we will drive through an area northeast of Frank Lake where a huge solar farm has been proposed, located almost on the edge of Frank Lake, and which is currently under review by Alberta Environment & Parks.

Driving southwards and then westwards of Stavely we will visit the Pine Coulee Reservoir and the beautiful Willow Creek Municipal Park nestled in the valley of Willow Creek. In the Porcupine Hills, we will stop by the site of an orphan gas well assigned to the Orphan Well Association for abandonment and site remediation.

The trip will continue westwards over the crest of the Porcupine Hills, reviewing the underlying geology and enjoying stunning views in all directions. The trip ends in the village of Longview viewing oil-producing sites and discussing issues related to future wells abandonment and wellsites environmental remediation.