Fall 2022 NCC Magazine

FALL 2022
60 TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE
Toward
a thriving
world
Building on our 60 years of excellence
to accelerate the pace of conservation

FALL 2022
CONTENTS
Nature Conservancy of Canada
4 Measuring your impact
A sample of what you’ve made possible.
6 Toward a thriving world
Celebrating 60 years of conservation, and looking
ahead to the next six decades.
10 Across the country
Conservation from coast to coast to coast.
12 Conservation partnerships
Some of NCC’s most successful projects have
been made thanks to government partnerships.
16 Walking together on the land
Lessons learned and perspectives gained
from Indigenous communities in becoming
better caretakers of the land.
18 Your natural legacy
The generosity of Canadians is building
a thriving world.
Digital extras
Check out our online magazine page with
additional content to supplement this issue,
at nccmagazine.ca.
Nature Conservancy of Canada
245 Eglinton Ave. East, Suite 410 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 3J1
magazine@natureconservancy.ca | Phone: 416.932.3202 | Toll-free: 877.231.3552
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is the country’s unifying force for nature. We seek
solutions to the twin crises of rapid biodiversity loss and climate change through large-scale,
permanent land conservation. NCC is a registered charity. With nature, we build a thriving world.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada Magazine is distributed to donors and supporters of NCC.
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2 FALL 2022 natureconservancy.ca

Thor Sveinbjornson,
conservation superhero
Dear Nature
Conservancy
of Canada,
TKTKTKTKTKTKT
FERNANDO LESSA. HAWLII PICHETTE.
My favourite place to be in nature is
on the shoreline of a lake, like at
our cabin at Last Mountain Lake in
Saskatchewan. It is a really awesome place to
play and spend time in, and also an important
place for many different plants and animals.
Birds are one of my favourites. At the
lake, we see yellow warblers, pelicans, purple
martins, waxwings, orioles, gray catbirds and
hummingbirds. Every now and then I see a
common loon. I like identifying them by their
calls — western kingbirds have a very quick
and cheerful song. Chickadees and yellow
warblers sound an awful lot alike and can be
tricky! But when I don’t know what species
it is, I enjoy using a book or bird ID app to
figure it out.
It is important to protect nature because
it is what keeps people alive! If there wasn’t
nature, our own species would go extinct.
In Saskatchewan, grasslands are one of the
most important biomes* that we need to
protect. I am really happy that the Nature
Conservancy of Canada has been protecting
nature for 60 years. Sixty years from now,
I will be 69 years old, and when I am that
old, I hope our planet looks the same but
even healthier!
Spending time in nature makes me feel
peaceful. When I see the wonders of nature
it makes me happy and want to protect it.
So, if you want to help someone understand
that protecting nature is important, you just
need to let them see the wonders of it, too!
Thor Sveinbjornson, age 9
Spring Bay, Last Mountain Lake,
Saskatchewan
*Thor’s aunt, who transcribed this letter
for him, assures us he really does know
the word “biome” and came up with it on
his own in their conversation!
Featured
Contributors
Fernando Lessa is
a professional nature-image
maker based
in North Vancouver, BC,
best known for his
conservation and
ecology documentation
of marine and freshwater
ecosystems.
He photographed
various NCC staff
portraits throughout
the magazine.
Hawlii Pichette is a
Mushkego Cree (Treaty
9) urban mixed-blood
artist and illustrator. Her
work is deeply influenced
by her culture
and upbringing, and
reflects the beautiful
integral interconnections
of the natural
world. She illustrated
“Walking together on
the land,” page 16.
natureconservancy.ca
FALL 2022 3

Measuring
your
impact
Looking back at what we’ve accomplished
with your support, and casting ahead to
bigger and bolder goals in the next 60 years
Since the first Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC)
project at Cavan Swamp and Bog, Ontario, almost
60 years ago, you’ve helped us come a long way in
ensuring the future of precious landscapes across the country.
Thousands of Canadians and various funding partners from
coast to coast to coast pitched in to support the conservation
of the lands and waters that sustain us all. Working together
with communities and partners, we look forward to the next
60 years as we achieve bigger and bolder goals, at a faster
pace, in restoring and conserving the natural environment
that we collectively value. Because when nature thrives,
we all thrive.
Here’s a sample of what you’ve helped us accomplish to date:
LAKES
490K
hectares
Canada is a land of an estimated
two million lakes. Your support has
ensured the protection of nearly
490,000 hectares of lake area.
RIVERS
61K
kilometres
Rivers are important ecosystems that
drain the landscape and support
many different aquatic and terrestrial
species along the course of their
length. NCC has ongoing restoration
activities across the country to
improve the integrity of riparian
habitats — the transition zone
between river and dry land. Your
support has protected more than
61,000 kilometres of rivers.
FORESTS
1.2M hectares
NCC works in a variety of different forest
ecosystems across Canada, conserving
nearly 1.2 million hectares of forest to date,
thanks to your help. That’s more than twice
the size of Prince Edward Island.
BRIANNA ROYE. COSTAL PRODUCTIONS.
4 FALL 2022
natureconservancy.ca

DARK SKY PRESERVES
13 projects
Dark Sky Preserves are natural areas where the
dark night sky is protected by eliminating light
pollution. Many species are negatively affected by
light pollution and require darkness for the healthy
functioning of their behavioural and physiological
cycles. Your support has helped NCC conserve
13 projects in Dark Sky Preserves across the country.
UNESCO BIOSPHERE
RESERVES
498 projects
UNESCO Biosphere Reserves are comprised of
natural ecosystems and working landscapes,
where communities work collaboratively to
balance development with the conservation
of natural resources. These reserves recognize
that community engagement at many levels
is needed for conservation success. Thanks to
your support, 498 projects are protected within
these reserves.
ETHAN MELEG. KYLE MARQUARDT.
WETLANDS
5.4 trillion
litres
Wetlands play a critical role in
absorbing and storing carbon.
They also remove sediments,
excess nutrients and even bacteria
from our drinking water. Like
a giant sponge, wetlands absorb
and hold water to buffer our cities
and farms from floods and
droughts. Your support has
conserved 390,000 hectares of
wetlands across Canada.
Together, these wetlands can
filter up to an estimated 5.4 trillion
litres of water, close to 2.1 million
Olympic-sized swimming pools.
RAMSAR SITES
97 projects
Designated by the Ramsar
Convention on Wetlands, Ramsar
sites are wetlands of international
importance. Your support has
helped NCC conserve 97 projects
within Ramsar sites.
KEY BIODIVERSITY AREAS
326 projects
Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are areas of exceptional
importance for wildlife and biodiversity.
They are identified in all habitats in terrestrial,
freshwater and marine ecosystems. With your
support, 326 projects are conserved in or within
close proximity to a KBA.
GRASSLANDS
113K hectares
Native grasslands are the unsung heroes of carbon
storage through their extensive root systems.
They are also among the world’s most endangered
ecosystems. Your support has conserved 113,000
hectares of native grasslands.
CARBON SEQUESTRATION
517K cars per year
Every year, the habitats conserved by NCC, thanks to your support,
store close to 2,300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (which
includes other greenhouse gases converted to their equivalent global
warming potential as carbon dioxide). That is equivalent to the annual
CO 2 emissions of around 517,000 typical passenger vehicles.
natureconservancy.ca
FALL 2022 5

The 1,340-hectare Cavan Swamp Wildlife Area
near Peterborough, Ontario, was NCC’s first
big conservation project, dating back to 1968.
6 FALL 2022 natureconservancy.ca

Toward
a thriving
world
MIKE FORD.
As NCC turns 60,
it looks ahead to
doubling the impact
it has had since 1962,
using its expertise
and relationships
to dramatically
accelerate the pace
of conservation
BY Alanna Mitchell
Cattails sway in the gentle morning breeze.
Three beavers frolic in the shallow water, shiny
backs arching briefly in the sun. A green frog calls.
And then, the urgent trill of the swamp sparrow:
“chee-chee-chee-chee.”
Always alert for the flick of a wing, Mark Stabb, central Ontario
program director for the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC),
pulls up his binoculars and peers into the trees. It’s another species:
a cedar waxwing. This spot, the 1,340-hectare Cavan Swamp
Wildlife Area near Peterborough, which NCC helped conserve, is
a well-known refuge for birds. From the roadside, he also spots
a rose-breasted grosbeak, grackles, mourning doves, goldfinches
— and that’s only the beginning. We stand open-mouthed as two
great blue herons — elegant and serene — take to the skies.
“NCC helped put this together decades ago,” he says, cradling
the binoculars as he drinks in the beauty of the place. “And now it’s
all out there and doing what it’s intended to do.”
The Cavan Swamp is more than just another vast protected area
that NCC had a hand in creating. It was the launching pad for NCC’s
work in Canada, the first big purchase. Today, as NCC turns 60,
natureconservancy.ca
FALL 2022 7

Catherine Grenier; Pelee Island, ON, one of the properties secured thanks to the Ivey Foundation.
We have the great maturity of knowing who
we are and how we can use that expertise to
help build a thriving world with nature.
Catherine Grenier, president and CEO, Nature Conservancy of Canada
Cavan Swamp is a symbol not only of how
far the organization has come in those six
decades, but also of the next challenges it
is eager to tackle.
“I think at 60, we have the great maturity
of knowing who we are and how we can use
that expertise to help unlock solutions for
conservation,” says Catherine Grenier, NCC’s
president and chief executive officer. “It’s
such a critical time for nature. There’s never
been a more important time in history. And
NCC has built this unique skill set that it can
now use to make a big difference.”
The overall plan? To use NCC’s expertise
and relationships to scale conservation up
dramatically, doubling the impact the organization
had in its first 60 years in just the
next eight. And then, keep going.
“Ultimately, our vision is to build a thriving
world with nature,” Grenier says.
Building on history
NCC’s tool kit has grown along with the organization.
In 1962, when NCC was founded
on the private land trust model of other
countries, Canada had few policies
preventing the bulldozing of wetlands,
a critical habitat for migrating birds. In
those first years, the fledgling NCC raced
to raise enough money to help buy the
Rattray Marsh, a key wetland on the lakeshore
between Toronto and Burlington
that was up for development.
But when the deal fell through, NCC
turned to an ambitious new tactic in its efforts
to take direct private action, becoming
a financing partner with conservation authorities,
governments and other agencies to
help buy these ecologically important lands
through private funds. The Cavan Swamp,
part of which NCC helped secure in 1968 (it
is managed by the Otonabee Region Conservation
Authority), was the test case.
A History of the Nature Conservancy
of Canada, by the late Dr. Bill Freedman,
includes a reflection by Charles Sauriol, one
of NCC’s first staff, on NCC’s growing role
as a conservation partner:
“This is why the Conservancy had
been born. Its role was that of a catalyst,
a facilitator; being a purveyor of funds
and matching grants was its raison d’être”
(Freedman, 48-49).
Today, NCC is Canada’s largest not-forprofit
land conservation organization, and
it has helped save more than 15 million
hectares, some of which it manages itself.
By 1971, NCC had expanded its collaborative
impulse even further, crafting a 10-year
partnership with the Ontario Ministry of
Natural Resources (as it was then called)
and the Richard Ivey Foundation (now the
Ivey Foundation) to conserve woodlands
along the Niagara Escarpment. The project
took off when the late Richard and Beryl
Ivey, both passionate about the environment,
introduced their neighbour to NCC. He
happened to be John Robarts, the then
premier of Ontario.
The Iveys suggested a novel matching
recipe for escarpment purchases: one dollar
of private money for every two dollars from
the province, with ownership of the properties
transferred to local conservation
...continued on page 12
SAM BRINKER. INSET: GENEVIEVE LESIEUR.
8 FALL 2022 natureconservancy.ca

NCC staff on the West
Coast have the privilege of
working to protect rare and
highly specialized coast
ecosystems, like the Garry
oak habitats found on
southern Vancouver Island,
the Gulf Islands and the
Lower Mainland.
“In the sixties, I heard about an
organization that apparently saved
forests. Really?
“I grew up in Northern Ontario,
where we had a 113-hectare farm.
Only 12 hectares of it was cleared;
the rest was trees, swamp and bluffs.
As a child, I thought of forests as
something you had to cut down so
you could grow crops and not starve
to death. And it was a place to stay
out of, because if you went in there,
you would get lost and the bears
would eat you.
FERNANDO LESSA. INSET: COURTESY LORNA SCHUELER.
“But like many other Canadians,
by the seventies, I was becoming
aware of how deeply humans are
linked to the land and that its care
and preservation is in our hands.
I realized that NCC was committed
to those concepts in a practical
way. I am a supporter to this day and
after I retired, it was my choice for
volunteer work. During those years,
I was able to see, first-hand, the
dedication and respect for all aspects
of nature that drive NCC.”
— Lorna Schueler
NCC donor since 1970 and volunteer
natureconservancy.ca
FALL 2022 9

Boreal Wildlands, ON
Nan Thok Natr’iniin’aii, YT
Old Man on His Back, SK
Darkwoods, BC
Yellowknife
Whitehorse
Edmonton
1
Regina
Winnipeg
Victoria
Building
momentum
Conservation from coast to coast to coast
Waterton Park Front, A B
Fort Ellice, MB
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: SONNY PARKER; GORDON MACPHERSON;
BRANIMIR GJETVAJ; ANDREW WARREN; THOMAS FRICKE; BRENT CALVER.
10 FALL 2022 natureconservancy.ca

Tallurutiup Imanga, NT
CONSERVING MORE, FASTER!
In just the last two years, you have helped double the impact
of conservation, ensuring the conservation of an astounding
1 million additional hectares from coast to coast to coast.
Here are two properties that helped accelerate the pace:
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: CHRIS DEBICKI; ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; ROBERT MCCAW; ROBERT MCCAW;
SEAN LANDSMAN; MIKE DEMBECK; SEAN LANDSMAN; KENAUK NATURE; JORDAN MYLES.
Johnson’s Mills, NB
Iqaluit
1. 1 Buffalo Pound, SK
AREA CONSERVED
866 hectares
HOME TO
American badger, Baird’s sparrow,
bobolink, northern leopard frog,
Sprague’s pipit
LANDSCAPE
Native grasslands, shoreline
Located in the Upper Qu’Appelle
Natural Area, Buffalo Pound contains
native grasslands and seven kilometres
of shoreline along the north shore of
Buffalo Pound Lake. One of the most
endangered ecosystems in the world,
these grasslands help filter drinking
water for approximately one-quarter
of the province’s population.
Northern leopard frog
1. 2 Hastings Wildlife
Junction, ON
AREA CONSERVED
5,000 hectares
HOME TO
Eastern wolf, black bear, moose, pine
marten, successfully reintroduced elk,
rare birds and turtles
LANDSCAPE
Forests, wetlands, rivers, creeks
Located at the junctions of the Algonquin
to Adirondacks and The Land
Between corridors, the Hastings Wildlife
Junction’s forests and wetlands provide
essential ecosystem services to the region
and beyond. These include carbon
storage, removal of air pollution and
flood water storage. The carbon capture
and storage benefits of the property
help reduce greenhouse gas levels in
the atmosphere.
Black bear cub
Sprague’s pipit
Grand Codroy, NL
Toronto
2
Quebec
Kenauk, QC
Fredericton
Abram-Village, PEI
Charlottetown
Halifax
Gaff Point, NS
St. John’s
TRADITIONAL LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
At the Nature Conservancy of Canada, we acknowledge
that the work we do across the country is
on the traditional territories of many Indigenous
Peoples. Canada is both the traditional and current
homelands of many Indigenous Nations and
communities. We make this acknowledgment with
respect and gratitude for the histories, languages
and cultures of Indigenous Peoples who are with us
today, those who have come before us and for
those who come after us, and with the commitment
to work with and support Indigenous people in the
spirit of Reconciliation on the land.
To learn whose land you’re living on,
visit native-land.ca.
natureconservancy.ca
FALL 2022 11

Kenauk, Quebec.
Hansen Ranch, Alberta.
INSPIRING
CONSERVATION WITH
PARTNERSHIPS
Among the Nature Conservancy of
Canada’s (NCC’s) most devoted supporters
are governments at all three levels
— municipal, provincial and federal. In
fact, NCC’s status as a trusted delivery
partner has resulted in partnerships with
governments from all 10 provinces, and
of every political stripe. This support has
inspired the conservation of some of the
most unique and rich natural areas in
NCC’s portfolio of lands and waters.
In particular, Environment and Climate
Change Canada has supported NCC’s
work across the country for several
decades. This support continues largely
through the Natural Heritage Conservation
Program (NHCP), a partnership
model established in 2007, which has
galvanized support from Canadians
from coast to coast to coast. Each dollar
invested by the Government of Canada
is matched by generous contributions
from other non-federal sources. Now
a more than $1.3-billion partnership, the
NHCP has resulted in the conservation
of nearly 700,000 hectares — an area
larger than PEI — which provides
habitat for more than 200 species at risk.
The NHCP was instrumental in establishing
several of NCC’s signature projects,
such as the Boreal Wildlands in Ontario,
Shaw Wilderness Park in Nova Scotia,
Kenauk in Quebec and Darkwoods in BC.
These conservation milestones contribute
directly to Canada’s goal of protecting
30 per cent of our lands and fresh
water by 2030. They would not have
been possible without the NHCP.
Visit natureconservancy.ca/nhcp for
more information.
I have always viewed every place we conserve
as being a gift to future generations, to people
I don’t know and will never meet.
Larry Simpson, senior advisor of strategic philanthropy and conservation, NCC Alberta
...continued from page 8
authorities. The plan kick-started the saving
of the escarpment, which is now part of
a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, and
set a pattern for future projects.
Jennifer Ivey Bannock, daughter of
Richard and Beryl Ivey, continued the family
passion for conservation through her work
on NCC’s board.
“My parents were passionate about the
environment,” she says. “I spent many happy
years on the board of NCC, and thanks to
them, came to appreciate Canada’s wide variety
of landscapes. With our natural world
under so much pressure these days, NCC’s
work to conserve Canada’s remaining natural
treasures seems even more critical.”
Other nimble new joint efforts followed
the escarpment project. Larry Simpson,
now senior advisor of strategic philanthropy
and conservation for NCC in Alberta, joined
the organization in 1990, “the first employee
west of Toronto,” he says, chuckling. It was
the start of a decade-long expansion across
the nation, which, in turn, set the stage for
an outpouring of new possibilities identified
through local connections.
“What we’re trying to do is help people
be part of a movement to create the kind of
country that we want our kids to be able to
thrive in,” Simpson says. “It’s a wonderfully
powerful mission.”
But Simpson quickly realized that Canada
lacked the tax mechanisms to allow citizens
and corporations to donate land at a fair
value or to create conservation agreements
restricting certain uses on the land in the
future. With a small gift from Neil Harvie, the
rancher who owned Alberta’s fabled Glenbow
Ranch, Simpson visited directors of wildlife
in several provinces to sound them out about
new conservation-friendly tax rules.
The result was Canada’s Ecological
Gifts Program, begun in 1995; a muscular
collaboration among dozens of partners
across federal departments and other layers
of government, plus non-governmental organizations.
So far, more than 200,000 ecologically
sensitive hectares valued at nearly
$1 billion have become part of the program.
And it’s growing: more landowners participate
each year.
Simpson often reflects on the inspiration
NCC has drawn from its donors to help propel
its work. “Donors like The Weston Family
Foundation and John and Barbara Poole,
whose donations in the late 90s first made
our work in the Waterton Park Front in Alberta
possible, helped NCC realize that there
were some significant supporters who wanted
us to take on bigger and more inspiring
projects; and we did,” he notes.
“I have always viewed every place we
conserve as being a gift to future generations,
to people I don’t know and will never
meet. Every single time, it’s a warm glow.”
As NCC evolves, so does the list of innovations,
explains Kamal Rajani, NCC’s chief
financial officer. NCC has made a practice of
working with partners to buy development
rights from resource companies on large
tracts of land, saving important habitat from
being significantly altered.
KENAUK NATURE. BRENT CALVER.
12 FALL 2022 natureconservancy.ca

The tactic alone has helped spur the
creation of some of Canada’s most iconic protected
areas, including Gwaii Haanas National
Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site in
BC, Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan
and Tallurutiup Imanga Marine Conservation
Area in the Arctic.
And there’s more to come. Plugging into
the carbon-storing value of NCC properties
will be a powerful source of funding for
future projects. Rajani is excited to track
how corporations, spurred by socially conscious
investors to address their environmental,
social and governance commitments,
participate more fully in conservation efforts
in coming years.
“The beauty is that Canada has
a vast amount of land to conserve, so the
opportunity is there,” Rajani says. “And
the world is thinking about climate change,
so there are going to be significant
investments.”
Innovating for the future
That bold thinking is not just on the financial
side, says Lisa McLaughlin, NCC’s vicepresident
of conservation policy and planning.
“The innovation, whether that’s with the
science or the planning or the stewardship
work and the landowner relationships, has
Introducing young children
to nature is the first step in
fostering future generations of
conservation-minded citizens.
“Living in Halifax, I am very much aware of the gradual loss of local natural
spaces. We are losing not only access to nature but also the biodiversity
and the ecosystem functions that they support. I congratulate (and
support) NCC in its efforts to preserve and restore our wild spaces in
eastern Canada and across this country for future generations.”
— Dusan Soudek
NCC donor since 1988
FERNANDO LESSA. INSET: COURTESY DUSAN SOUDEK.
FALL 2022 13

Mentor and mentee: Mark Stabb and Sara Meyer.
Boreal Wildlands, Ontario.
Ecological Gifts
Program
Environment and Climate Change
Canada also supports NCC’s work
through the Ecological Gifts Program
(EGP). The EGP provides a tax
incentive for private landowners who
donate land or interests in land to
qualified conservation organizations
like NCC.
It has been an overwhelming success.
Since its inception in 1995, the
program has inspired more than 1,500
gifts of land across Canada. Of these,
more than 340 generous donations
have been made to NCC, totalling
more than 140,000 hectares.
just always evolved,” McLaughlin says. “I think
that can be tied back to our philosophy as a
learning organization and as an evidence-based
organization, where you take what you
learned and then you build on it. And you
keep moving forward.”
That momentum has been propelled by
NCC’s determination to respect the voices of
all players. Over the past decade and a half,
as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s
findings on the residential school system have
educated the public, NCC has done its own
internal reflection on Indigenous issues.
That’s led to what McLaughlin, who began
at NCC as an intern more than two decades
ago, calls “the single biggest change in the
culture of NCC and in the expression of
our work.”
“It just became very obvious that as
a private land organization, we are in a very
unique position to consider ‘What does Reconciliation
look like?’ given that the history
of conservation in Canada has been largely
detrimental to Indigenous Peoples,” she
says. “Now, as the very first aspect of the
conservation work we do, we are thinking
hard about how to engage Indigenous
Peoples. What does it mean, what are the
rights, what are the responsibilities? And
how do we honour that?”
Back at the Cavan Swamp, Stabb
and Sara Meyer, NCC’s new coordinator
of conservation biology for the Greater
Toronto Area, are preparing to visit
another NCC project one road south. It’s
the Taylor Nature Preserve, where an
old barn has just been removed. Metre by
metre, the barn site will be restored until
it, too, is a riot of original native species,
including white spruce, basswood, black
cherry, sugar maple and beech. In a few
years, that barren spot will be bustling with
life, like the lush landscape we see before
us at Cavan Swamp.
That dream of caring for ecosystems
over the long term, restoring them and
helping them become more resilient to climate
change so that nature can thrive, is
what draws Meyer to NCC. Stabb, her mentor,
is helping her become part of the next generation
of conservation leaders.
“I love learning more about past conservation
methods and how to apply them to
current efforts,” Meyer says.
She looks around her, listening to the
birds, weighing the meaning of this place.
“It’s very cool. It was NCC’s first major
project. I see the history. And I feel a sense
of wanting to protect it for the future,” she
says. “It’s beautiful.”1
ANDREW WARREN. MIKE FORD.
14 FALL 2022
natureconservancy.ca

NCC staff member setting her
sights at Happy Valley Forest, ON.
Pipestone Creek, SK.
“Congratulations NCC on 60 years of
conservation success! We’ve been
proud to partner with you as you’ve
grown into one of the world’s
foremost conservation organizations.
BRIANNA ROYE; INSET: JASON BANTLE.
“The Weston Family Foundation
shares your commitment to
protecting and restoring biodiversity
in Canadian landscapes. We look
forward to continuing our work
together to conserve a thriving
natural world for all.”
— Emma Adamo, Chair,
Weston Family Foundation
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Your
natural
legacy
The Nature Legacy Society is
a group of over 2,000 Canadians
who have left a gift to NCC in
their Wills
A
s we look back and celebrate
60 years of the Nature
Conservancy of Canada’s
(NCC’s) history, we can’t help but
think about the thousands of Canadians
who have supported us on this
journey, and the vital lands and waters
that will be sustained well into the
future. NCC has set ambitious goals to
ensure that our most cherished habitats
and the species that depend on
them are conserved for the long term.
Legacy gifts have been instrumental
to the foundation of NCC. They have
provided us with the funds that support
the day-to-day operations of Canada’s
largest land conservation charity.
These gifts provide resources that
allow us to set ambitious goals and
commit to milestone conservation
initiatives across Canada.
Nature Legacy Society members
share a vision for the future where important
ecosystems, habitats and wildlife
are protected well beyond their
lives. They have trusted NCC with the
most precious of gifts: their legacy.
We are honoured to receive bequest
gifts from donors and are grateful to
the more than 2,000 members of the
Nature Legacy Society who have informed
us of a future provision to NCC
through a gift in their Will.
The successes we share as an organization
working to conserve our
most valuable natural spaces can be
directly attributed to the dedication
and commitment of you, our donors.
Laurie Arbeau with a 10-week old beaver rescued from the side of the road.
Laurie Arbeau
“My whole life, I have always felt a connection to nature. If one can just take a moment to
sit, block out all the human-made sounds and activities, allow yourself to listen and really look
at what is before you, it doesn’t take long to realize just how amazing, beautiful and balanced
nature is, and to think it costs us nothing to be able to enjoy this reality.
“I have a personal saying that is very dear and meaningful to me. It represents how I feel about
nature and the lessons my father taught me on several camping trips as I was growing up: “Fly
free, swim free, roam free.”
“I choose to leave a gift in my Will to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, as to me this
organization represents the very saying that is dear to me. It brings me comfort and peace
knowing NCC is hard at work trying to protect wilderness and wildlife for the good of all.”
– Laurie has been an NCC donor since 2010 and a Nature Legacy Society member since 2019.
Keith Brooks, Georgian Trail, Meaford, ON.
Keith Brooks
“From Cathedral Grove in BC, to the Skerwink Trail in Newfoundland, to my own backyard,
I have seen many amazing sights offered by nature. I’m entrusting NCC currently with my
financial support and leaving a gift in my Will, as they have demonstrated a love for our natural
heritage and a science-based approach on how to conserve it for future generations. By setting
priorities and working with others, NCC has set a great example of how, together, we can make
a difference, both today and in the years to come.”
– Keith has been an NCC donor since 2001 and a Nature Legacy Society member since 2011.
Greg Oneschuk
Greg Oneschuk, Balancing Rock, NS.
“I have always held a strong position in favour of a healthy and sustainable environment for
future generations to enjoy. I believe the goals and policy of NCC closely align with that philosophy.”
– Greg has been an NCC donor since 2014 and a Nature Legacy Society member since 2018.
PHOTOS COURTESY LAURIE ARBEAU, KEITH BROOKS AND GREG ONESCHUK.
18 FALL 2022 natureconservancy.ca

A NATURAL LEGACY
FOR THE FUTURE
A Gift in your Will to the
Nature Conservancy of
Canada will go to protect
our most vulnerable natural
areas and the wildlife that
live there, for generations
to come.
TKTKTKTKTKTKT
For more information on how you can leave a gift
for nature in your Will, please contact Jackie today
to request your free information booklet.
877-231-3552 x. 2275 | planned.giving@natureconservancy.ca
natureconservancy.ca
FALL 2022 19

THANK YOU!
SCAN TO
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Thank you for 60 years of conservation success! As we celebrate
the last six decades with you, we look ahead to the next 60 years.
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With nature, we are building a thriving world.