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ALUS

Where Agriculture & Nature Meet

ALUS (originally an acronym for Alternative Land Use Services, and pronounced “Alice”) is a national charitable organization that helps farmers and ranchers build nature-based solutions on their land to sustain agriculture and biodiversity for the benefit of communities and future generations. ALUS provides expertise, resources and direct financial support for the establishment, management, and stewardship of these ecosystem services.

ALUS consists of a network of more than a thousand farmers and ranchers across six Canadian provinces who establish and steward enhanced wetlands, windbreaks, riparian buffer zones, wildlife habitats, regenerative agriculture practices and other impactful environmental projects on their land. These nature-based solutions produce cleaner air, cleaner water, greater biodiversity, carbon sequestration, erosion control, flood and drought mitigation, pollinator and wildlife habitat, and other ecosystem services for the benefit of communities.

 

How does ALUS work?
 

ALUS recognizes the important role farmers and ranchers play as stewards of the land and empowers them to deliver nature’s benefit on the working landscape.  ALUS provides expertise, resources, and initial cost-sharing for the establishment of environmental projects, as well as annual payments to ensure the ongoing stewardship of projects.


ALUS applications are always welcome by completing an Expression of Interest form.  For more information, contact Agricultural Services at 780-542-7777 or email us at: .

 

How Does ALUS Help?

 

ALUS works with governments, corporations, other non-profits, private philanthropists, and other funders to support its community programs and has so far* disbursed more than $12 million in funding to ALUS communities across Canada, an investment that is multiplied by the farmers, ranchers, and communities.

ALUS’ New Acre Project serves as a platform for purpose-driven corporations to go beyond their sustainability objectives and take concrete actions that generate positive impacts in the communities where they operate. Through the New Acre Project, corporations are enabling communities to become more resilient and empowering farmers and ranchers to build nature-based solutions on their land, one acre at a time.

As a result, there are now more than 32,000 acres enrolled in ALUS - that’s 130 km2, the size of a small national park – with more than 1,100 farmers and ranchers from 31 ALUS communities across six provinces. This past year alone, ALUS disbursed nearly $2.3 million funding to ALUS communities, where more than 240 farmers and ranchers joined ALUS as new participants and enrolled nearly 6,000 additional acres in the program, creating new ALUS wetland, woodland, grassland, and pollinator projects.
* As of March 31, 2021

 

Partnership Advisory Committee (PAC)

 

The local ALUS Coordinator and a Partnership Advisory Committee (PAC) manage each ALUS program. The PAC, which is made up of agricultural producers and such local stakeholders as municipalities, conservation groups, farm associations and government agencies, determines how the local ALUS program will be run, within the framework of ALUS's principles and guidelines.

Front: Nancy Chambers, Henry Hughes

Middle: Dawnia McCann, Jessica Rogerson, Jeff Bundt, Art Goerzen

Back: Bart Guyon, Cody Claypool, Darren Bruhjell, Shirley McConnell

The 2023/2024 PAC is comprised of:

Council Representative

  • Reeve Bart Guyon

Five local producers:

  • Art Goerzen
  • Henry Hughes
  • Jeff Bundt
  • Cody Claypool
  • Shirley McConnell

Representatives from 4 external agencies:

  • Rosey Radmanovich, North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance
  • Tonya Lwiwski, Cows & Fish
  • Darren Bruhjell,  Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
  • Jessica Rogerson, Farming Forward Association

ALUS National:

  • Christine Campbell, Senior Hub Manager (West)
  • Karen Snethun, Associate Hub Manager (West)

Brazeau County Administration:

  • Dawnia McCann, Manager of Agricultural Services 
  • Nancy Chambers,  ALUS Coordinator
    The function of the PAC is to review and approve potential projects.  Potential projects should meet specific criteria, as established by the Brazeau County ALUS PAC.  For projects to be considered by the PAC, projects should:
  1. Be submitted by an agricultural producer with a registered or legally defined farming operation, eligible for farm tax status in Alberta; and
  2. Have agricultural activity occurring on marginal or environmentally sensitive portions of the lands that are being considered for enrollment in ALUS; and
  3. Be located on less than 20% of the titled and/or leased land within Brazeau County, managed by the producer.

Please be advised the PAC can modify the eligibility requirements in certain circumstances.  If you are not certain if your project qualifies, please contact the ALUS Program Coordinator to discuss!

 

ALUS Brazeau Contact

Nancy Chambers

Brazeau County ALUS Program Coordinator

Box 77, 7401 Twp Rd 494

Drayton Valley, AB T7A 1R1

ALUS@brazeau.ab.ca

Phone: 780-542-7777

 

ALUS