Submitted by Leah Downey
CLSS program coordinator
The Columbia Lake Stewardship Society is a local non-profit organization that focuses on protecting and monitoring the health of Columbia Lake. Through working with other local organizations, communities and volunteers, our goal is to provide stewardship opportunities for others to help conserve our beautiful lake!
We are busy with our regular water quantity and quality programs! These include sampling and monitoring the water in Columbia Lake as well as the contributing streams twice a month. We take regular measurements of the specific conductance, turbidity, pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen, which are parameters that allow us to analyze the health of the lake. We also collect water samples throughout the season, which we send for further lab analysis to measure the concentrations of various elements and compounds, such as chloride and phosphorus within the lake. These measurements can vary throughout the year depending on seasonal changes and even human disturbance.
Kids Summer Camps began July 2 and running every Friday until August 27. We will be working alongside the Lake Windermere Ambassadors to offer free summer camps for kids aged between eight to 12. These camps will include fun and engaging activities for kids, providing opportunities to learn about the environment and the lakes! Camps will be held in Invermere at James Chabot Provincial Park and Canal Flats at Tilly Memorial.
For more information and registration, visit columbialakess.com under our Newsletter tab.
We also provide various stewardship opportunities, such as organized weed pulls and shoreline cleanups. If you would like to be involved in any events, volunteer opportunities or would like any information, contact [email protected].
You may see our Summer Student Mitchell Aitken and Program Coordinator Leah Downey around the lake this summer running outreach activities, be sure to say hello and ask them questions about the lake!
