To celebrate Alberta Wilderness Association’s 60th Anniversary in 2025, we asked Albertans to commit to a nature-based challenge centred around the number 60!
We had more than 60 Albertans participate in the challenge, and each were given their own webpage to share with friends and family who could then sponsor their personal adventure. Everyone who completed their 60 challenge received a special piece to commemorate their achievement and AWA’s 60th anniversary; a handcrafted ceramic medallion courtesy of our event sponsor, Bowness Soapworks+Seto Pottery! Participants and sponsors also had the chance to win a prize from one of our multiple draws during the year, courtesy of sponsors like Gord’s Running Store, Tea Trader, and Lori Beattie of Fit Frog Adventures.
It was a pleasure to see how participants embraced their own connections to Wild Alberta through this challenge. From travelling through Wild Alberta on foot, bike, skis, or by water, to embracing the creative side of nature through painting, sketching, or poetry, to contributing to citizen science or local rewilding efforts, learning more about the flora and fauna in the province, and more, everyone took on something unique and personal to them. Check out all of our participants’ challenges at the links below.
Thanks to our hundreds of generous sponsors, we raised over $35,000 to support AWA’s conservation efforts throughout the province!
©Lindsey Wallis
©Stephanie Ho Lem
©Pamela Narvaez
©R. Lainchbury
©Jamie Jack
©Kennedy Halvorson
©Seto Family
©Sara Heerema
©Kelcie Joad
©Ruiping Luo
©Cam Goater
©Loreen Ayuda
©Shannon Mageau Webb
©Finn Rosenegger
©Rita Fowell
©Shawna Rogers
©Jim Campbell
©Amanda Konnik
©Sisterhood of the Traveling Flask
©Stacie Wilkinson
Our “What’s Your 60?” Participants
Amanda Konnik – “Solo hiking 60 km and visiting and logging 60 different bodies of water”
Amber Cannon – “Get out of the house and spend 60 days in nature this year”
Amy Tucker – “Take 60 photos of nature in 2025 and go for 60 outdoor swims”
Bill McKeeman – “Complete 60 hours of bird feeder counts and submit the data through eBird”
Bronwyn Hogman – “Ride 60 km every month in the spring and summer, do 60 walks at 60 different parks or hikes, and perform a random act of kindness 60 times a month- could be for people or nature”
Cam and Lori Goater – “Reach 60 native plant species in our plant beds by the end of the 2025 growing season”
Cameron Hunter – “Contribute videos of 60 different birds to citizen science via Ebird”
Chelsea S. – “Make 60 donations towards conservation and environmental campaigns”
Chris Saunders – “Walk, cycle, or ski 60 kilometres on trails in Kananaskis”
Cliff Wallis – “Do a bunch of things with “6s” and “0s”, including raise $6060.60 for AWA, lead hikes totalling over 60 km in Alberta protected areas, contribute at least another $6060.60 to family What’s Your 60 efforts, visit 6 provincial protected areas in six natural subregions, and volunteer on 6 different grassland conservation networks/organizations for AWA”
David and Oliver Fernandez – “Cycle 600 km across Alberta, create 60 nature-themed Lego scenes”
Debborah Donnelly – “Posting 60 new observations on iNaturalist in 2025, walking 60 km/month, and writing 60 nature-based haikus”
Eustace-Wallis Family – “Trail running 60km in a day, swimming in 60 bodies of water in Alberta, and visiting 60 Alberta protected areas”
Emma Shaw – “60 new walks/hikes/trails in 2025”
Finn Rosenegger “Spend 60 nights outside in the wilderness (or my backyard), rain or shine”
Heinz Unger – “Introduce at least 60 Wild Adventurers to the Ghost Valley”
Jamie Jack – “Hike for 60 Minutes in Alberta every month in 2025, Cross-Country Ski 60 Kilometers in 30 Days, Bike 60 Trails in Alberta”
Jill Girgulis – “Run 60 kilometres in Fish Creek Provincial Park”
Jim Campbell – “Backpack 60 km including the Skyline Trail in Jasper National Park, paddle 60 km on the Bow River from Cochrane to Carseland, ski 60 km in the parks and places in and around Calgary, and identify 60 species of birds over the course of 2025”
Jocelyn Boissonneault – “Get out in nature 60 days this year”
Kelsie Joad – “Visit 60 Calgary Parks, walk 1600km, and hike 60 trails”
Kennedy Halvorson – “Document 60 bees on Bumble Bee Watch”
Kristina Moore & Family – “60 days of family movement in nature in 2025”
Lily Yu – “Post about nature 60 times on LinkedIn”
Lindsay Siegle – “Complete 60 hikes to appreciate the beauty of Alberta’s wilderness, and document my hikes with 60 sketches”
Loreen Ayuda – “Capture 60 flora photos”
Melba Seto & Family (Bowness Soapworks) – “60 days of foraging, fishing and climbing, 60 km of running, 60 days of ski, skate and surf”
Mountain Manics – “Achieve a 600 km cycling target per person and raise funds for the amount per km that we ride (ex. $1.00/km)”
Neil Kathol – “Paint sixty 6 x 8” oil paintings in nature (and of nature) before the end of the year”
Pamela Narvaez-Torres – “60 walks throughout the year and submit 60 observations to iNaturalist”
Phillip Meintzer – “Commuting by bicycle 60 times in 2025″
Rita Fowell – “Share nature with 60 different people throughout the year”
R Lainchbury – “Pick up 60 pieces of litter in a park, and smile and say hello to 60 different people in nature”
Ruiping Luo – “Spend 60 hours drawing birds and other nature-related topics. Take 60 walks or hikes outdoors”
Ruth McKeeman – “Write 60 letters to government”
Sara Heerema – “Plant 60 native perennial plants to replace lawn, barren ground, or invasive species”
Shannon Mageau Webb – “Hiking or running 60 trails in Alberta”
Shawna Rogers – “Complete 60 Adventure Labs”
Sisterhood of the Traveling Flask – “60 hikes and 60 wildflowers”
Sonja Hayes-Powers – “Go on 60 outdoor adventures”
Stacie Wilkinson – “Find 60 new places to explore, visit 60 local parks, capture 60 pictures of nature whether it be animals, flowers, mountains, etc.”
Stephanie Ho Lem – “Complete 60 sketches/paintings of wildlife and/or natural landscapes”
Susan Scott – “Write 60 letters to politicians”
Tricia Striker (Back to Wild YYC) – “Posting about 60 different native wildflowers and grasses on Instagram”
Van Pernis Family – “Foster an awareness and appreciation of nature in our daughter, while keeping our own sense of wonder fed, by committing to 60 trips to our neighbourhood park throughout this year”