The British Columbia Lake Stewardship Society is preparing to launch our "LakeKeepers Workshops" in August 2009. The first course will be held at Lake Windermere in the East Kootenays.

In 2004, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada funded the completion of the LakeKeepers manual. Some of you may already have the manual or have heard about it. For those of you that have not, this manual is a lakeshore resident's guide to the stewardship and monitoring of lakes. Its purpose is to provide education, awareness, technical training and support for curious and concerned lake stewards.

The next component of LakeKeepers will involve an interactive workshop delivered by qualified and certified instructors. Instructors will use a classroom approach to introduce limnology (the study of freshwater) and lead lake stewards through the manual. The second portion of the workshop will involve "getting your feet wet", the field component.

Every lake system is different and therefore requires its own lake management objectives and goals. Many lake stewards and lake stewardship groups have a basic understanding of their lake, but need more information and tools to actively manage their lake needs. The LakeKeepers Course will be designed to provide in depth information on lakes, and will include specific additional modules that can be selected by lake groups according to their interests and needs.