A message from CPAWS-NWT in Memory of Alex Borowiecka

Alexandra (Alex) Borowiecka

We are very sad to announce the passing of CPAWS Board member Alex Borowiecka. Alex was a remarkably patient and kind person, as well as being thoughtful, gentle, and unassuming. She was very perceptive and had a deeply poetic soul. She truly left a mark on her adopted community of Yellowknife.

Alex received degrees in architecture and landscape architecture from the University of Manitoba. She moved north shortly after graduation and worked with the Government of the Northwest Territories in various positions. During the early 1990’s she was part of the team of landscape architects that developed many of the parks, trails and facilities throughout the north. She applied her skills and sensitivity to designs that make an impact to this day.

Alex first joined the board of CPAWS-NWT shortly after the chapter was established. After a brief hiatus she re-joined the board in September 2016 as our secretary. She took on the onerous task of preparing minutes for which we were all grateful. She brought her patience and understanding to every CPAWS meeting and event.

Alex was an active member of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects and had previously been a staff member and a board member of Ecology North. She loved her little piece of the northern rock and trees overlooking Great Slave Lake where she welcomed her friends including and many cats and dogs she adopted and cared for over the years.

As Alex once eloquently put it, we “don’t know what to say, what to do, what to think, in hopes of helping. There are no trite expressions or responses, only unanswerable, unanswered existential questions.”

We’ll miss Alex, but we are grateful for the time she spent with us and the efforts she put into our community, and into conservation of northern Canada.