Big Knife Provincial Park, nestled in the valley between the counties of Paintearth and Flagstaff, hosted the Battle River Water Shed Alliance (BRWA) for one of its annual events on Aug. 18.
The BRWA hosted its annual watershed festival, showcasing the variety of nature that thrives in the area just a little ways upstream from the Heartland Generation, one of the sponsors of the event, Battle River Generating Station.
“It was just fantastic,” said Catherine Pierce, the executive director of the BRWA.
On hand were several BRWA board members, as well as representatives from Alberta Parks, the Strathcona Raptor Centre, the Diplomat Mine Interpretive Site, Cows and Fish, the Alberta Lake Management Society and the Alberta Community Bat Program.
There was also a craft table set up for the kids!
Board member Greg Smith, an educator and geology enthusiast had a table set up near the BRWA tent which featured a variety of different wildlife and geology displays.
“He was sharing all the different rocks of the area with the kids,” said Pierce.
The Watershed Festival ran from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., and, according to Pierce, was well attended with over 100 people coming out.
As part of the festival, people had the opportunity to grab a hot dog from the barbecue, go on a plant or, new this year, a habitat walk, go for a paddle on the river with canoes and volunteers provided by the Forestburg Fitness Institute or just hang out and check out the displays.
While the watershed festival is an annual event, 2023 marked the first year back in several years as it was shut down, among with many other things, during the COVID pandemic.
“It was really nice to be back,” said Pierce.