Bedeque Bay Environmental Management Association

BBEMA works with community partners to protect the natural resources of the Bedeque Bay Watershed. Engaging community stakeholders in the environmental well-being of the watershed through programs that emphasize the conservation of biodiversity, protection of natural habitats and healthy ecosystems. Providing education and volunteer opportunities that involve community members on key issues of: soil conservation, land use planning, habitat enhancement initiatives, water quality monitoring and stream restoration. BBEMA’s general activities include Environmental education and outreach programs Water quality monitoring in freshwater pond and streams Riparian and hedgerow tree planting aquatic and terrestrial habitat enhancement Species at risk monitoring and habitat enhancement – Monarch butterfly and Atlantic Salmon community Stormwater management programs – rain barrel and rain garden programs estuary health monitoring and microplastics monitoring in the Bedeque harbor monitoring of invasive species.

Company History

BBEMA is a not-for-profit charitable organization located in Emerald, PEI. The organization was developed in 1992 and is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. BBEMA’s management area is the Bedeque Bay watershed, composed of the Dunk, Wilmot, and Bradshaw Rivers. BBEMA has a long history of delivering successful projects with a variety of partners and are continually looking for new partners and projects to advance the conservation cause, including the wise use of our natural resources.
BBEMA’s goal is to provide an opportunity to engage community stakeholders in the environmental well-being of the watershed, emphasizing the conservation of biodiversity and protection of natural habitats – focusing on key issues of soil conservation, land use planning and enhancement initiatives targeting hedgerows/riparian zones, water quality and stream restoration.

Company Facts

BBEMA has had numerous environmental and conservation directed success stories over the pst 30 years:
• In 2020 our organization re-developed and launched a new Strategic Management Plan for the Bedeque Bay Watershed, 2020-2030.
• Since 2015 BBEMA has completed extensive riparian tree planting initiatives – incorporating the planting of 52,000 native trees/shrubs within the Bedeque Bay watershed for aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem benefits.
• Additional to this in-stream habitat restoration has been carried out on 97km of stream targeting brook Trout and Atlantic Salmon habitats.
• in 2019 BBEMA completed a three year intensive restoration of the 125 year historic Summerside Ice Pond, including restoration of fish passage and excavation of sediment-filled pond basin and the construction of a 2km wheelchair accessible nature trail and pollinator gardens.
• In 2020 BBEMA completed channel restoration on Dunk River Estuary through the placement of (3) large crib deflectors to consolidate sediment and re-define the main river channel for the passage of Atlantic Salmon to historic spawning tributaries within the upper reaches.
• Our organization completes yearly monitoring of fish passage barrier inventories, fish spawning (red counts), water quality monitoring, macro-invertebrate population, estuary health assessments and monitoring tagging/release/tracking of Monarch butterflies.
• BBEMA is very proud of our extensive community/youth targeted suite environmental education and outreach programs (Adopt-a-River, River to the Sea, Yellow Fish Road, Frog Friends, Generation Conservation) that have provided hands on citizen science based learning to over 55,000.00 community youth since 2015.