Spring 2018 NCC Magazine

YOUR
VOICES
Looking to the future
“As a volunteer with the Nature Conservancy
of Canada (NCC), I have been
involved for several years with NCC’s
work to conserve the unique landscape
of Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2017,
our family decided to donate a 243-acre
(94-hectare) coastal property in Freshwater
Bay, near St. John’s, to NCC.
“This property is a peaceful place, with
stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean,
just minutes from the city. We were
happy to provide the East Coast Trail
Association with access to this land, so
hikers could explore the area. Now we
are looking forward to working with
NCC to ensure this land is permanently
protected and remains in its natural
state for present and future generations
to appreciate.”
~ Rob Crosbie is an avid sportsman
and well-known business leader who
has been involved with NCC in Newfoundland
and Labrador since 2009.
Mess or meadow?
“In my old neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, a church on a corner lot got
torn down, to be replaced by townhomes. But before the property became
a construction site, it stood vacant for a long time. Or rather, it stood unoccupied
by people. Opportunistic wild things claimed it for their own.
“In spring and summer, it became glorious; full of purple thistles and the goldfinches
who thrive on them, sunflowers, orange daylilies, goat’s beard that
formed seed pods like ghostly globes, blue tares, wavy grasses, creeping pink
bindweed. Not only a joy to the eyes, the little meadow, as I called it, smelled
green on the smoggiest days and hummed with insect chatter.
“I knew that not everyone approved of the meadow, because I’d heard complaints
about its resident skunk. 'Somebody should clean out that mess,' they said.
“To me, the meadow was one of the neighbourhood’s pleasures and a testament
to nature’s ability to transform a pile of rubble into a refuge. I fantasized
about becoming wealthy enough to buy up every vacant lot in the city, just to
leave it be. That didn’t happen, but pondering the fate of my meadow moved
me to join in NCC’s efforts to open people’s eyes to the nature in their midst
and to acquire and conserve plots of land across the country, some of them
meadows destined to last!”
~ Liz Warman has been a montly donor with NCC since 2009.
Send us your stories! magazine@natureconservancy.ca
GOLDFINCH: STEVE GETTLE/MINDEN PICTURES.
NATURE CONSERVANCY OF CANADA
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