FortWhyte Alive, 1961 McCreary Rd. in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is more than just a nature centre, wildlife refuge, or a place for education – our 640 acres of protected urban greenspace is an award-winning destination for incredible outdoor experiences.
Mission: FortWhyte Alive is dedicated to providing programming, natural settings and facilities for environmental education, outdoor recreation and social enterprise. In so doing, FortWhyte promotes awareness and understanding of the natural world and actions leading to sustainable living.
FortWhyte Alive is located on a reclaimed industrial site, developed as a clay-pit quarry by Canada Cement in 1911. Five lakes were excavated as a part of this process. Since 1967, our private, non-profit organization has been offering educational programming onsite, including urban fishing and non-motorized recreational use of our lakes including sailing, canoeing and swimming. The lakes are considered a closed-system watershed, with infrequent water quantity contributions from overland flooding.
Declining water quality conditions and large fluctuations in water quantity in FortWhyte Alive's lakes has been identified through staff observations and the completion of a North-South Consultants Assessment of Current Water Quality Conditions in August 2009. In 2013, FortWhyte staff began to collect monthly baseline monitoring data on lake health parameters, year-round, and continue to current time. The program's purpose is to provide a data source for open access by researchers, and to assist in the organization’s water management decisions, with the goal of preventing further eutrophication and improving water quality parameters. FortWhyte Alive engages an Aquatic Advisory Board of aquatic research experts to advise us on monitoring actions.
10.25976/h30w-an19