The City of Weyburn is once again proclaiming the third week in June as Native Prairie Appreciation Week.
Since 2011, the City of Weyburn has joined the province and other urban areas across Saskatchewan to celebrate native prairie, which will take place from June 14 to 20 this year.
The Saskatchewan Prairie Conservation Action Plan (SK PCAP) has initiated the official proclamation of Native Prairie Appreciation Week (NPAW) in Saskatchewan since 1999. Provincially, NPAW is jointly proclaimed by Saskatchewan's Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Environment. Saskatchewan is the only location across North America that devotes a week to raising awareness about prairie conservation.
"Native Prairie Appreciation Week is an important way for people to learn about prairie and how they can play a role in conserving our grassland ecosystems," explains Orin Balas, rancher and chair of SK PCAP. "It's important for the entire province to recognize the values of native prairie but one of the main things NPAW also tries to do is educate and engage with people on a local level as well, including local proclamations such as in Weyburn," Balas says.
The week-long celebration includes a province-wide youth poster contest, information booths at numerous local urban markets, as well as a social media campaign. The week will conclude with the annual Society for Range Management Tour, open to the public, this year taking place on June 18 and 19, 2015 near Prince Albert National Park.
Since 1998, the Saskatchewan Prairie Conservation Action Plan Partnership has brought together native prairie stakeholder groups, including organizations representing producers, industry, provincial & federal governments, non-government organizations and research and educational institutions under a common vision for prairie conservation in Saskatchewan.
"SK PCAP has thirty partners all committed to prairie conservation," says Natasha Wilkie, manager. "NPAW is just one great example of the native prairie conservation activities we are involved in across Saskatchewan," she says, stating that SK PCAP is also very active across western Canada and beyond.
