From protecting endangered pollinators to inspiring the next generation of conservationists, the inaugural CWF True North Wildlife Conservation Awards celebrate six recipients whose work is helping shape a brighter future for wildlife in Canada.
Conservation takes many forms. It can mean returning a species from the brink of extinction, discovering fungi that science has yet to document, inspiring children to learn outdoors or bringing the plight of threatened whales to national attention. Across Canada, people are finding new ways to protect wildlife and habitat — and their impact reaches far beyond their own communities.
On October 23, 2026, the Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF) brought six of these conservation champions together at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa for the inaugural CWF True North Wildlife Conservation Awards. Building on a 50+ year history of recognizing conservation achievement, these signature national awards celebrate the innovation, leadership, impact and collaborative spirit driving meaningful change for wildlife. This year’s recipients demonstrate what’s possible when knowledge, passion and a commitment to nature come together.
Here are the six recipients helping make a difference for wildlife in Canada.
Learning from Lake Sturgeon Youth Advisory Group — Youth for Wildlife Award
In northern Ontario, Moose Cree youth are helping protect a fish that has survived for millions of years. Working with Moose Cree First Nation Resource Protection and the Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada, the Learning from Lake Sturgeon Youth Advisory Group trains young people to tag, track and monitor namewak, or lake sturgeon, in the North French and Mattagami rivers.
Guided by Elders, participants bring Indigenous Knowledge and Western science together to better understand river ecosystems and protect wildlife in Kit Aski Nahnuun, the Moose Cree Homeland. Their work is building conservation knowledge while empowering the next generation of Indigenous stewards.
Colin Harris, Take Me Outside — Nature-based Education Award
Learning doesn’t have to happen inside four walls. Colin Harris founded Take Me Outside to make outdoor learning a greater priority in schools and communities across Canada. Through the national charitable organization, educators and students are encouraged to connect with nature as part of everyday learning. By helping young Canadians develop meaningful relationships with the outdoors, Harris is investing in a generation that understands the value of nature and has the confidence to protect it.
Jenn Thornhill Verma — Wild Media Impact Award
Journalism can help turn awareness into action. As Canada’s first Pulitzer Center Ocean Reporting Network Fellow, Jenn Thornhill Verma investigated the threats facing North Atlantic Right Whales, including entanglements, vessel strikes, habitat changes and noise pollution.
Published in The Globe and Mail as the Entangled series, her reporting explored these complex challenges and the solutions needed to address them, bringing an urgent conservation issue to a wider Canadian audience.
Wildlife Preservation Canada — Wildlife Impact Award
For four decades, Wildlife Preservation Canada has helped give endangered species a fighting chance. Its breeding and reintroduction programs have supported wildlife including the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike, Burrowing Owl, Swift Fox, Oregon Spotted Frog and Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly. Combining scientific research, habitat restoration, innovative technology and partnerships, the organization tackles not only the survival of individual species but also the underlying causes of their decline.
Mycosphaera — Conservation Innovation Award
Often overlooked, fungi are essential to healthy ecosystems — yet much remains unknown about their diversity and conservation needs. Founded in 2025, Mycosphaera is Canada’s first not-for-profit dedicated exclusively to fungal conservation.
Through field inventories, genomic sequencing and citizen science, the organization is building evidence to bring fungi into species-at-risk protection. Its teams have documented more than 100 species new to Quebec or science, while its public education initiatives are introducing Canadians to the remarkable fungal kingdom.
The late Dr. Sheila Colla — Conservation Leadership Award
A leading voice for native pollinators, Dr. Sheila Colla dedicated her career to understanding and protecting Canada’s bumble bees. By co-founding Bumble Bee Watch and documenting dramatic declines in native species, her research helped lead to the Rusty-patched Bumble Bee being designated Endangered in Canada and the United States.
Although Colla passed away in 2025, her legacy continues through the Colla Conservation Science
Lab, her published work and the many people she inspired to protect pollinators.
You Can Help Celebrate Canada’s Next Conservation Champions
Together, these six recipients show that conservation progress depends on people willing to ask new questions, share knowledge, challenge convention and turn commitment into action. Their work offers a powerful reminder that meaningful change is possible — and that every approach to protecting nature has a role to play.
Now, CWF is looking ahead to the next generation of conservation leaders. Nominations for the 2027 CWF True North Wildlife Conservation Awards open November 1, 2026, and close January 31, 2027. Whether you know an inspiring educator, a dedicated researcher, a conservation innovator or a young champion for wildlife, consider nominating someone whose work deserves national recognition.
Learn more and prepare your nomination at CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca/Awards.
Canada’s wildlife future depends on people who care enough to make a difference. The CWF True North Wildlife Conservation Awards are an opportunity to celebrate them — and inspire others to follow their lead.
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Our mission is to conserve and inspire the conservation of Canada’s wildlife and habitats for the use and enjoyment of all.
