October 17, 2025 — A major win for walleye conservation has landed the most prestigious award ever for Watersheds Canada, the 23-year-old national conservation charity that inspires community-wide involvement in logistically, and often physically, challenging habitat restoration work, even in the wintertime.
Last night, at the Water Canada Awards, in Toronto, Ontario, Watersheds Canada staff proudly accepted recognition from nearly 200 water protection leaders. Watersheds Canada’s Fish Habitat Program is the winner of the small project conservation award for an ambitious walleye spawning bed restoration project.
Melissa Dakers, Watersheds Canada’s Habitat and Stewardship Program Manager, praised the cold-weather bravery and resourcefulness of local volunteers who joined her team on a frozen Eastern Ontario lake last February. “They brought their snowmachines, ATV’s and outdoor stamina and traditional knowledge.”
Chief of the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation, Doreen Davis, was in attendance that winter day. “Today is one of those building blocks of your life,” she said after the event. “Today we met new people, we were able to share our energy, our good thoughts, and be on the land and on the lake and work towards something that is important to all of us.”
That day, in partnership with the Big Clear Lake Association, G.E. Matson and Sons Construction, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation, staff and volunteers moved and distributed 17 tonnes of washed river rock overtop a historic walleye spawning bed. The project was generously funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund, with permits provided by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
“Sustainable native fisheries and healthy lakes and rivers are the true winners of our environmental actions,” said Dakers. “Watersheds Canada is humbled and proud of this national conservation award as it gives our partners and volunteers encouragement to bring more stewardship success stories to freshwater communities across Canada.”
Robert Pye, Executive Director of Watersheds Canada, added, “Our team congratulates the other nominees and winners at Water Canada Awards for their impressive contributions to taking action for and addressing water health issues.”
Watersheds Canada’s Fish Habitat program began 12 years ago and has since delivered 68 grassroots projects across 44 bodies of water in Central-Eastern Ontario. Please visit watersheds.ca/our-work/habitat-programs/ to learn more about these projects.
About Watersheds Canada
Watersheds Canada is a registered Canadian charity dedicated to protecting the country’s freshwater resources and the ecosystems they support. With a twenty-three year history of impactful habitat restoration programs and stewardship initiatives, Watersheds Canada is at the forefront of environmental and freshwater conservation. Learn more at watersheds.ca/
Media Contact
Monica Seidel
Communications and Fundraising Manager
Watersheds Canada
seidel (at) watersheds.ca