2025 Environment & Sustainability Award Recipient

Professional engineer Mike Gallant dedicated his career to championing nature-based solutions that redefine environmental restoration and bioengineering practices. Driven by a passion for ecological restoration, this is reflected in his work rehabilitating degraded river and stream systems to enhance fish and wildlife habitats and improve riparian (riverbank) health.

As the project technical leader and engineer of record for the City of Calgary’s Riparian Monitoring Program (RMP), Gallant and his team have set new benchmarks for assessing and improving the health of riverbanks and wetlands adjacent to rivers and streams. Under the RMP, the health of these lands was evaluated by analyzing engineering structure durability, material condition, vegetation establishment, erosion control, and habitat quality.

Under Gallant’s leadership, the RMP team assessed more than 100 sites across Calgary, such as the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Harvie Passage, and Edworthy Park. Documenting the improvement in Calgary’s riparian health score from 60 to 69 per cent, the RMP team showed significant progress towards the city’s 2026 target of 72 per cent. He says the most meaningful accomplishment of his career is legitimizing nature-based engineering approaches.

“With limited existing data in this field, our work helps practitioners make informed decisions. I’ve prioritized sharing our findings, ensuring the broader community benefits from our research, and advancing best practices.”

Gallant and his team spearheaded the development of the Bank and Riparian Quality Index, a tool providing standardized metrics to evaluate the success of restoration projects. Sharing the public report in 2023, they distilled years of monitoring data into actionable insights for improving future riparian restoration and bioengineering techniques, influencing best practices worldwide.

New approaches and their results, tested at Calgary’s Bioengineering Demonstration and Education Project and the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary Reconnection Project, are shared for public benefit, and fish are now safely accessing the sanctuary wetland.

Gallant is also a board member of the Red Deer River Watershed Alliance and the Alberta branch of the Canadian Water Resources Association. Under his leadership, Calgary’s riparian areas continue to thrive, setting a precedent for restoring ecosystems and creating resilient landscapes to protect against environmental challenges.

Notable Achievements and Recognition

• Keynote Speaker, Promoting Soil and Water Bioengineering Approaches for Bank Stabilization, Société Québécoise de Phytotechnologie (2024)
• Board Member, Red Deer River Watershed Alliance (2021–present)
• Treasurer and Board Member, Alberta Branch of the Canadian Water Resources Association (2018–present)
• Leader, Bioengineering Demonstration and Education Project (2016–2019)
• Member, APEGA (2010)
• Young Alumni of the Year, University of New Brunswick (2007)