2026 Land Awards Winners: Celebrating Leaders and Projects in BC

2026 Food Sovereignty award winners: Nature Trust of BC, Cowichan Tribes & UBC Indigenous Ecology Lab. Photo: Emmett Race

2026 Land Awards Winners: Celebrating Leaders and Projects in BC

On June 4, 2026, the Real Estate Foundation of BC (REFBC) honoured two remarkable individuals and five outstanding projects leading the way to more sustainable, equitable, and socially just relationships between lands, waters, and people.

Almost 250 guests joined us for the 2026 Land Awards Gala — a night of art, storytelling, and community — at the Coast Coal Harbour Vancouver Hotel, in the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

Musqueam Elder Mary Point welcomed guests to the Gala, which was emceed by Madelaine McCallum and featured poetry by Meredith Graham.

Congratulations to the winners, finalists, and nominees for your vital contributions to land use, culture, sustainability, and real estate!

To find out more about the 2026 winners and Gala, visit the Land Awards website.

Meet the Winners and Finalists

Land Champion

Winner

Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson

Emerging Leader

Winner

Janna Wale

Land Use & Conservation

Winner

Camosun Innovates
Totem 2.0

Finalists

Awi’nakola Foundation
Tree of Life Gathering

SȾÁUTW̱ (Tsawout) First Nation
QEN,T Stewardship Plan

UBC Forestry & Environmental Stewardship
Reconciliation via ‘Foodsback’ for Quw’utsun Food Systems in the Cowichan Bay Estuary

Fresh Water

Winner

Nicola Watershed Governance Partnership
Nk’eʔxép Management Committee

Finalists

Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance
Indigenous-led Aquatic Habitat Monitoring in the Upper Fraser Watershed

Okanagan Nation Alliance
Volitional Passage for All Indigenous Salmonids After 100 Years, Okanagan Lake Dam

Cheam First Nation
Shxwlistexw te Sqwa:la Shxweli (Care for the Life Spirit of the Hope Slough)

Built Environment

Winner

Renewal Development & shíshálh Nation
shíshálh Nation 10 Home Rescue Project

Finalists

Reciprocity Trusts Society
Reciprocity Trusts

Squamish Nation
Ta Skwekwiy̓íntsuts ta Sx̱wéx̱wel (The Valley’s Plan)

City of Vancouver & Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
Seeding Stewardship

Food Sovereignty

Winner

Nature Trust of BC, Cowichan Tribes & UBC Indigenous Ecology Lab
Quw’utsun/Xwulqw’selu (Cowichan/Koksilah) Estuary Restoration and Food System Revitalization Project: Hulitun Spulhxun/Tumuhw (Nurturing Fields)