FireSmart in the Bow Valley
The Bow Valley is naturally prone to wildfires. Climate change and the expansion of our communities into forested areas has dramatically increased wildfire risk to homes and infrastructure.
We believe that adopting FireSmart principles is essential to enhance our resilience and protect what we cherish, which is why we’ve added Community Wildfire Resilience to our strategic plan.
FireSmart Tool Lending Kits
Planning a neighbourhood clean-up or FireSmart project?The Biosphere offers free FireSmart tool lending kits to help residents take action to reduce wildfire risk on their properties and in their neighbourhoods.
What’s included:
Rakes and loppers
Pruners and shears
Handsaws and polesaws
Work gloves, safety glasses, and high-visibility vests
Contact kendra@biosphereinstitute.org to reserve a tool kit or learn more about how we can support your neighbourhood.
Neighbourhood Recognition Program
We work with residents across Canmore to build local momentum and support communities through the Neighbourhood Recognition Program. Our team can help you connect with neighbours, organize information sessions and clean-up events, access funding, and navigate the process from start to recognition.
Ongoing Support for FireSmart Action 2026
Thanks to support from Wawanesa Insurance we have been able to continue to support residents and neighbourhoods as they take action to increase wildfire resiliency.
Neighbourhood clean-up in Stonecreek on June 13th.
Here are a few quick facts about what we’ve been up to:
240 homes reached by FireSmart ambassadors.
4 new Neighbourhood Champions.
5 clean-up events.
6 neighbourhoods have taken advantage of the free FireSmart Bin Program offered by the Town of Canmore so far. 5 bins remain.
Note: There are certainly more Champions and recognized neighbourhoods in Canmore. The Biosphere has had direct involvement with the mentioned above.
See our community in action!
2025 Impact Snapshot
How We Supported FireSmart Action in 2025
Thanks to generous support from the G7, we partnered with the Town of Canmore to support residents and neighborhoods.
FireSmart Ambassador Program
As part of this project we launched a door knocking campaign that helped educate residents about reducing wildfire risk on their own properties. We shared information about the Neighborhood Recognition Program and encouraged residents to connect with their neighbors to see an even greater impact.
This program ran from August 21st to October 16th, 2025 and in that time we visited 520 homes in the Larch, Ridge, and Silvertip neighbourhoods!
Based on our conversations with residents we found that:
36% of residents had done Firesmarting on their property and another 32% were aware of Firesmarting principles.
82% of residents did not know about the Neighbourhood Recognition Program.
93% of residents we spoke to committed to taking action to reduce wildfire risk on their own property.
Supporting the Neighborhood Recognition Program
We are also offering support to any Canmore resident who would like to learn more about the FireSmart Neighborhood Recognition Program, wants to connect with their neighbors, or host a neighborhood event.
We are already working with several residents who have stepped up as Neighborhood Champions.