Lake Louise Conservation Project

Candidates should have strong interpersonal, communications, and problem solving skills, strong ability to work independently and as part of a team, and be an enthusiastic person who stays positive in less than perfect circumstances.

Candidates should also have a desire to work hard, make a difference, and a willingness to remain flexible and positive through ever changing project work, locations, and weather conditions.

Volunteers must be physically fit, have proper clothing and hiking gear (footwear must have tread suitable for trail hiking), and able to do some periodic heavy lifting and hiking in mountain areas. As a volunteer at Lake Louise you should be able to hike for several hours and carry your own equipment.

Please contact us if you have questions about footwear or what to bring. Candidates who come with footwear not appropriate for mountain activity will be required to buy it or will not be allowed to participate in group activities that require it.

All volunteers will have 1 full day of training in Lake Louise upon arrival including an introduction to the area, safety presentation, and overview of the types of activities that will take place during the 4 week volunteer period.

The LLSR Senior Manager takes the lead in managing the Volunteers during the program and the Team Leader for LLSR provides daily support and supervision during projects.

Projects include:

• Visual Aesthetics improvements through refurbishing (scraping, sanding, painting, and/or staining) infrastructures. Which in turn means reduction to the waste stream – an environmental contribution!
• Volunteers will be taken on hikes including to Skoki Lodge a National Historic Site and the birthplace of skiing in Lake Louise as well as sightseeing road trips.
• The volunteers play a critical behind-the-scenes role in visual aesthetics improvements because starting in 2022, Parks Canada in collaboration with Lake Louise Ski Resort moved its Park and Ride mass transit summer bussing program to the ski area bringing thousands of park users to a significantly upgraded Visitor Experience. Locating its bussing hub to LLSR is a significant conservation initiative that reduces vehicle traffic in important wildlife corridors in Lake Louise.
• Supporting small local businesses who survived the pandemic through the ski areas good corporate citizenship initiative. This involves a variety of tasks and is dependent on the business’s needs.
  Starting in 2013, the ski area took over the maintenance responsibilities of the Friends of Yoho Commemorative Bench program. These benches are located in various marquee locations like Moraine Lake, Emerald Lake, Takkakaw Falls, and more!
• Assisting the Environmental department with their many hands’ support for reclamation, rehabilitation, and restoration projects such as erosion control, seeding and fertilizing disturbed areas, removal of invasive plant species, native landscaping and planting small trees or shrubs, and more.
• Litter removal and general clean-up on lift alignments, ski runs, and around built infrastructure and associated areas and/or in support of local small businesses and community-organized events.

The volunteer duties depend on the needs of the LLSR, collaborators, and partners, and the organizers do their best to make every day a unique experience! The best experiences occur when the groups GO WITH THE FLOW of the program.

Volunteers work 5 days on, 2 days off, 8 hours per day- this is usually Monday-Friday, 9am to 5pm.

During their free time, volunteers can enjoy the beautiful town of Lake Louise and the surrounding area (the town of Banff is only 45 minutes away). Volunteers are encouraged to get involved in the community and experience the culture of Lake Louise, Field and Banff.

Arriving and departing Lake Louise is the responsibility of the volunteer. We recommend flying into Calgary, and taking a bus from the Calgary airport and using one of the airport services from Lake Louise back to the airport in Calgary.

Bus from Calgary to Lake Louise & Lake Louise back to Calgary:

Brewsters or Banff Airporter: www.brewster.ca / www.banffairporter.com.

There is also the option to take a Moose Travel Company bus tour from Vancouver to Banff: www.moosenetwork.com

Upon first arriving in Lake Louise, volunteers can check in to the Charleston Residence between 8AM – 6PM.

Detailed arrival information will be sent to the volunteer pre-departure.

We are unable to use the previously used Charleston Residence, so accommodation details for the 2024 sessions will be determined soon. Please note that accommodation fees are included in the program fees.

You will be within walking distance to the shops and services. Volunteers are responsible for purchasing their own food and cooking meals at the accommodation and can shop for groceries and other items in Lake Louise.

There will be occasional trips as a part of the program to Banff/Canmore where there are bigger stores to purchase groceries. You are encouraged to use this opportunity to stock up.

***Volunteers will also receive a $200 gift card which can be used in many ski hill outlets, including meals, beverages and souvenirs!