About our Journey
From November 27th to December 4th, 2016 we will be partaking in the first Sustainable Leadership Journey in South Africa.
We are attending this conference as Canadian delegates. We will be teaching others from around the world about our sustainable water practices that have been successful in our homes. We will also have the opportunity to learn from others about practices that have been successful for them in hopes that we can bring new innovative ideas back to our work in water stewardship in Canada.
​
To read more about the agenda for the conference you can view the schedule here.
About Us
We are all attending this conference put on by Living Lakes International and in partnership with Global Nature Fund and Wildlands because of our backgrounds in water stewardship.
​
We all hope to bring back knowledge to our local areas to impact long-term sustainable change around our important water systems.
Kat Hartwig
Kat has been working on environmental advocacy issues in BC since 1983 and joined Wildsight in 1991. With a degree in Commerce Kat has applied her business experience throughout her environmental work. Kat was a manager for Wildsight’s backcountry recreation program where she developed multi-stake holder regional and provincial coalitions that worked co-operatively on conservation issues. She has worked internationally to promote awareness of endangered species such as the Mountain Caribou and the impacts of unsustainable, industrial tourism practices.
Kat has attended SRI forums throughout in North American and Europe and participated in workshops that helped to define criteria for Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) from a non-governmental perspective. She has worked to develop shareholder resolutions that encourage environmental policies for public and private companies. Kat’s most recent portfolio includes her provincial, national and international work to develop corporate and NGO partnerships which support Wildsight’s conservation, water stewardship and climate change initiatives.
​
​
Heather Leschied
Heather as been involved in stewardship efforts in the Columbia Basin for more than a decade. She works with individuals and groups to increase capacity and knowledge to better protect our watersheds. Under this guidance, Wildsight’s water programs have won awards from foundations and industry, and have been recognized by the federal government as a best practices example in community based monitoring.
Heather is actively involved in the East Kootenay Integrated Lake Management Partnership, Columbia Basin Watershed Network, Friends of Kootenay Lake, Lake Windermere Ambassadors, and more.
She holds Environmental Studies and Geography degree, is a certified Streamkeepers Instructor and field lead for the Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network.
Avery Deboer-Smith
Avery has been working in water stewardship for the last few years throughout the Kootenays in British Columbia. She recently transitioned from water conservation work with local municipalities and regional districts to managing a local non-for profit that works on water stewardship around Kootenay Lake. She also sits on the Board of Directors with the the West Kootenay EcoSociety where focuses include; climate change action, food sustainability and the preservation of wild spaces.
Avery recently completed a technical diploma in Environmental Sciences to accompany her educational background in International Relations. She plants to return to do her Masters degree in the near future with a focus on Environmental Management.