Sierra Club Leader Charlie Richmond Honoured with Alberta Lieutenant Governor's Leadership for Active Communities Award

Ottawa: Sierra Club Canada Foundation would like to congratulate Charlie Richmond, leader of the Prairie Chapter, for being awarded the Alberta Lieutenant Governor's Leadership for Active Communities Award. The province-wide award is given to individuals who "demonstrate the very best of active community leadership, engages citizens in planning, use leadership to get people more active more often, and work to create places, spaces, and opportunities for people to be active and engage their communities, using recreation as a catalyst."

Charlie received the award last weekend at the Chateau Lake Louise during the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association's annual banquet and president's awards night, where honoured guests and the vice regal party with the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Her Honour the Honourable Lois Mitchell and His Honour Doug Mitchell were piped into the grand Mt. Temple Ballroom at Chateau Lake Louise. 

"We are so proud of the work Charlie does in his community, which exemplifies the best of the approach of Sierra Club: to get people engaged, active, and inspired to help make their communities better," states Sierra Club President Leo Lee. "His work to protect key areas in Alberta, engage with people of all backgrounds to improve planning and watershed protection, his commitment to science-based policy, and his ability to connect people with nature are an embodiment of Sierra Club values and an example to us all."  

Charlie Richmond is a champion of active civic engagement in good governance and empirically-based environmental advocacy in public life. He was granted this honour in recognition of his numerous contributions and thousands of volunteer hours dedicated to improving the quality of community life in the province of Alberta.  Mr. Richmond is a well-recognized and highly respected leader, is frequently at the forefront of issues of critical import to the community, and his work has inspired numerous volunteers over the years to become active outdoors and in their communities. 

Mr. Richmond’s activities, be they attending a local council meeting, guiding a public nature walk, or bringing experts together to research the implications of urban development on watershed and aquatic life, are astounding in terms of number of hours devoted to his volunteer work, and the scope of his impact.  Charlie has also guided hundreds of nature hikes and tours of areas that contribute to biodiversity and quality of life for local residents.

Some highlight’s of Charlie’s accomplishments include: assisting in the establishment of urban wildlife corridors and parks in Alberta (particularly in the Edmonton area), establishing one of North America's only urban wildlife passes, protecting Whitemud Ravine and Tufa Spring as an urban nature reserve, and advocating for inner city parks and neighbourhoods.  

"Knowing Charlie's contribution to protecting the environment and preserving quality of life in his community, there is no person more deserving of this award," according to Gretchen Fitzgerald, National Program Director of Sierra Club Canada Foundation. "He has a unique ability to see the innate potential to connect with nature that exists within everyone: creating a sense of awe & respect that changes the perspective of those lucky enough to tag along. Congratulations and thank you Charlie."

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For more information, please contact 


Gretchen Fitzgerald

National Program Director

Sierra Club Canada Foundation

902-444-7096