Wawanesa has announced it will distribute more than $150,000 in Community Wildfire Prevention Grants to 12 local organizations across Canada.
According to Wawanesa, the funding will support a range of wildfire prevention and mitigation efforts, including the installation of campfire spark screens, fuel clean-up equipment, and vegetation management.
The grants are part of the insurer’s Climate Champions program, which supports community-based initiatives through an annual $2 million commitment.
Community-level action emphasized in national wildfire defense
The grants were developed in collaboration with FireSmart Canada and the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR). Both groups highlighted the importance of supporting local initiatives.
Lisa Walker, Director of Resiliency and Partnerships at the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which operates FireSmart Canada, said: “Community involvement is the cornerstone of implementing FireSmart principles. Actions taken at both the individual and community level will help reduce wildland fire risk for yourself, your family, and your neighbours.”
Paul Kovacs, Executive Director of ICLR, added: “Many Canadian communities that are at risk of a similar fate are small and have few resources to be able to address the risk effectively. Wawanesa’s Community Wildfire Prevention Grants has helped many of these communities over the last three years deal with this risk by helping to fund key fire mitigation projects.”
Projects aim to support prevention efforts and build capacity
The funded projects include the creation of a mobile wildfire fuel clean-up unit, clearance of overgrown vegetation, and public safety enhancements like spark screen installation at campsites.
Wawanesa stated that this marks the third year of its wildfire prevention grants program.
Jackie De Pape Hornick, Director of Communications & Community Impact at Wawanesa, said: “With wildfires becoming an ever-growing threat across the country, resilience is key to safeguarding homes, farms, and businesses. We’re proud to partner with these local organizations, helping them to take proactive steps to make the places they live and work safer.”
Canadian communities supported through national collaboration
Wawanesa emphasized that its funding initiative focuses on communities that may lack the resources to implement wildfire prevention strategies independently.
Kovacs referred to the town of Jasper, where he said about one-third of the community was lost in a fast-moving wildfire last year.
The full list of grant recipients and funded projects is available on Wawanesa’s website.
Wawanesa funds wildfire prevention projects across Canada with $150,000 in community grants: Summary
Wawanesa has awarded over $150,000 in Community Wildfire Prevention Grants to 12 locally based organizations across Canada.
The initiative is part of Wawanesa’s Climate Champions program, which provides $2 million annually for community-based resilience projects.
The grants support activities such as mobile wildfire fuel clean-up, spark screen installation, and vegetation removal.
The program was developed with FireSmart Canada and the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction.
Lisa Walker of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre and Paul Kovacs of ICLR both emphasized the importance of community-level mitigation.
This is the third consecutive year that Wawanesa has funded these grants.
According to Wawanesa, more information about the recipients and their projects is available at www.wawanesa.com.