Just over a year after retiring from the NHL and leading Team Canada to an Olympic gold medal in Vancouver, Scott Niedermayer has taken up the reins again to bring the city, and the country, international recognition. This time, however, even the salmon will be applauding him.
Niedermayer has joined forces with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to become Canada’s freshwater ambassador, with a focus on the Pacific region.
In his new role, Niedermayer will be working with the WWF in its freshwater program, a job that entails raising awareness of the issues involved with the consumption of fresh water and the impacts its usage has on the ecosystems that depend on it.
As someone who’s always had an interest in the environment and conservation, it wasn’t long after his June 2010 retirement from the NHL that Niedermayer’s agent suggested he connect with the WWF.
“I was eager to explore something different than frozen ice and a piece of rubber, which was great – I had a lot of fun doing that. But at the same time, I was excited to learn some new things and try on something different,” said Niedermayer.
It’s a move that WWF president and CEO Gerald Butts and vice-president, Pacific region, Darcy Dobell trust will raise awareness and inspire Canadians nationwide about freshwater ecosystems and the importance of conserving those ecosystems.
“We’re looking to elevate fresh water as a policy issue, a public relations issue. ... Our point is a really simple, straightforward one: that the life that’s in and around freshwater ecosystems, like grizzly bears and salmon – all the things that make B.C. B.C. – are really important. We need to have a better scientific understanding of what those species need before we start taking so much of it for ourselves,” said Butts.
The government is currently working on overhauling B.C.’s freshwater legislation, which is more than 100 years old.
As it stands right now, what is required to keep the environment alive around freshwater ecosystems doesn’t have to be taken into consideration before the resource is allocated for commercial, industrial or residential purposes.
With Vancouver having a “hyper-aware” public and a mayor that makes it his goal publicly to make the city the greenest city on earth, having it also become a leader in the world for freshwater sustainability is something Dobell hopes will soon become a reality.
“We can be ahead of the problem and get ready and be prepared, because things are going to change,” said Dobell. “It’s good to have the legislation in place now, but we can also take this opportunity to be the first jurisdiction in Canada ... to be a model, not just for jurisdictions that have had to do this because of scarcity, but to be able to show this to other places – how you can do this right, proactively.”
As for what drew Niedermayer to WWF as his choice in conservation organizations, it was all about their approach.
“I like how they seem to approach it with some give and take and some finesse, and try and just get everybody feeling good about what’s going on,” said Niedermayer, “as opposed to maybe being the loudest voice in the room, and that’s more my style.”