Aquatic sciences form the basis of the sound management of lakes and their watersheds. In honour of Dr. Ron Zurawell’s dedication and contributions to this field of study, the Alberta Lake Management Society is proud to offer a scholarship to encourage and support students in disciplines related to lake or watershed management.
Full-time senior undergraduate or graduate students enrolled at Canadian universities or colleges are eligible to apply. The scholarship is intended to support students in the aquatic sciences and related disciplines, and promote the objectives of ALMS. The amount offered is $2,000 Canadian.
A scholarship review committee appointed by the ALMS Board of Directors will review applications and award the scholarship. A combination of the following factors will be considered: academic achievement, major field of study, a statement of career goals, and relevance of the course of study to the objectives of ALMS.
The recipient will be expected to address the ALMS Annual General Meeting in the fall to present a progress report on research undertaken, or another topic of mutual interest. The scholarship funds may be spent at the discretion of the award recipient.

How to Apply:
Learn about qualification criteria and important dates through our Scholarship Poster.
Ready to apply? Check out the Application Criteria guide to make sure you have all of the required materials.
Dr. Ron Zurawell
This Scholarship proudly bears the name of Dr. Ron Zurawell, PhD, P.Biol., an internationally renowned limnologist, researcher, and author. Ron came by his passion for aquatic ecosystems early, fishing lakes near his hometown of Edmonton. He earned his B.Sc. from Concordia University (Edmonton) with a major in zoology. He then pursued graduate studies with the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta, earning his PhD in Aquatic Ecology focusing on freshwater ecotoxicology. This research investigated the prevalence and biological effects of cyanobacterial toxins in Alberta lakes and was the dawn of a decades-spanning career in the field of surface water quality.
The start of Ron’s graduate studies in 1994 also marked the beginning of his association with ALMS. He quickly assumed the ALMS Board position of Secretary, which he held for six years. He started volunteering as a water quality field technician with ALMS’ fledgling LakeWatch Program in 1997. He remained an ALMS Board Director until 2004, shortly after he joined Alberta Environment (AENV), leading Alberta’s Provincial Lake Water Quality Monitoring Program. This position allowed him to continue working in partnership with ALMS to the mutual benefit of the organization and government: this collaboration bolstered the scientific rigor, data compatibility, sustainability, and community outreach of ALMS’ LakeWatch Program and for AENV meant more Alberta lakes being monitored on an annual basis.
Having been involved with provincial lake monitoring for over two decades, Ron aspired to increase the collection of lake data across the province, developing this capacity by engaging ALMS, citizen scientists, lake stewardship groups, and First Nations communities. He endeavoured to make environmental science information accessible to a wide audience, including technical professionals, municipalities, lake watershed stewardship groups, citizen scientists, and the general public. Ron’s work contributed to the development of nationwide drinking and recreational water quality guidelines. In 2007, Ron was recognized by the North American Lake Management Society with the Technical Excellence Award for Outstanding Research in Lake Restoration, Protection, and Management.
The ALMS Dr. Ron Zurawell LakeWatch Scholarship serves to inspire and support the next generation of aquatic scientists in pursuing projects that carry on Ron’s legacy of passionate protection of vulnerable ecosystems and human health.
“My hope is for students to advance knowledge of Alberta’s freshwater resources, in particular our collective understanding of lake water quality conditions — in the past, present, and future — and its influence on aquatic ecosystem health. My hope is that supported projects yield novel information and knowledge that could be applied to the current and ongoing challenges faced by watershed managers, First Nations communities, stewardship groups, cottage owners, and others in Alberta. Above all, I hope students develop their own passion for lakes, wetlands, rivers, and their watersheds.” — Dr. Ron Zurawell
Past Recipients
Recipient | Year Awarded | Program Title |
---|---|---|
Renz Layugan | 2024 | Characterizing spatiotemporal dynamics and predictors of cyanobacterial blooms in Alberta. |
Tara Lepine | 2023 | An experimental test of the potential for Bull Trout conservation translocations, via instream incubation capsules, in Alberta. |
Ceilidh Welch | 2022 | Assessing the Reliability of a Community-Based Approach to qPCR Water Monitoring. |
Ferdous Nawar | 2021 | Implication of winter ice cover physical/optical properties on basal productivity and associated hydro-chemical gradients in seasonally ice-covered temperate lakes in Alberta. |
Sydney Huculak | 2020 | Identifying the limiting nutrients driving stream eutrophication within Alberta’s agricultural watersheds. |
Sebastian Theis | 2019 | Assessing Habitat Enhancements to Improve the Restoration and Development of Northern Boreal Lakes. |
Sydney Rudko | 2018 | Development, Implementation, and Assessment of qPCR Field Diagnostic Methodologies within a Citizen Science Framework for Monitoring Biological Hazards in Recreational Water. |
Kate Keenan | 2017 | Impacts of climate and environmental change on zooplankton community structures in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains. |
Laura Redmond | 2016 | Assessment of climatic adaptation by alpine plankton. |
Michelle Gordy | 2015 | Ecological modelling of snail and trematode communities to understand swimmer’s itch transmission in Alberta lakes. |
Lisa Brodziak | 2014 | Water Quality Assessment and Management Options for Isle Lake and Lac Ste. Anne, Alberta. |
Michelle Gordy | 2013 | Environmental factors and their effects on swimmer’s itch transmission dynamics in Alberta lakes. |
Lauren Bortolotti | 2012 | Whole-ecosystem recovery of prairie pothole wetlands. |
Megan MacLennan | 2011 | Interactions between multiple stressors in freshwater lake communities: Can fish predation negate climate warming effects? |
Sarah Lord | 2010 | Patterns of mercury contamination in Common Loons and fishes near a local source of atmospheric mercury pollution. |
Justin Hanisch | 2009 | Effects of stocked trout on the native food webs, forage fish and invertebrates of boreal foothills lakes. |
Nathan Ballard | 2008 | Internal phosphorus generation from lake sediments in Alberta prairie lakes. |
Vanessa Phillips | 2007 | High Mountain Lakes as Indicators for Global Change. |
Heather Boyd | 2006 | Regime Shifts in Shallow Prairie Lakes. |
Danielle Cobbaert | 2005 | Effects of phosphorus on submerged macrophytes and planktonic food webs in Boreal Lakes. |
Steph Neufeld | 2004 | Land conversion and its effect on stream nutrients and macroinvertebrate diversity. |
Fiona Johnson | 2003 | Sustainability of Bull Trout in Lower Kananaskis Lake. |