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June 22, 2011 (Winnipeg) -A nine-year-old artist, a celebrated wildlife biologist, a devoted activist and a grassroots naturalist club were named as winners of Nature Canada’s 2011 conservation awards today at the group’s annual general meeting in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Richard Yank, Chair, Nature Canada Board of Directors, presents Roger Turenne, Nature Manitoba, with the Affiliate Award.

The awards honour individuals or groups for making significant contributions to the preservation and protection of Canada’s wildlife and wild spaces.

“In Canada, nature is embedded in our culture, our economy, our national identity. These awards celebrate some of the people who devote their lives to protecting nature in this country,” said Ian Davidson, Nature Canada’s executive director. “I am truly inspired by this year’s award winners. Their passion for preserving Canada’s natural treasures has raised the bar for what can be done to protect Canada’s iconic wildlife and wild spaces for generations to come.”

In their own special way, each award winner has helped nature conservation in Canada.

Annie Buckton, age nine, is the 2011 Charles Labatiuk Volunteer Award winner. Like so many of us, Annie watched and read stories about the horrific oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year. She was moved by the plight of the Piping Plover, a bird she grew to love during summer vacations on Sauble Beach, and one of the many Canadian migratory bird species winging their way into the disaster zone. Annie found a way to help – she convinced a local art gallery and several area artists to stage an art exhibition to raise funds for clean-up efforts in the Gulf.

This year, Nature Canada is recognizing Robert Bancroft for his lifetime service to nature conservation by presenting him with its preeminent award, the Douglas H. Pimlott Award. A writer, researcher, and teacher, he has used his expertise in wildlife biology to educate the public about the protection of nature. His influential voice in Nova Scotian conservation, and his actions have had a nationally significant impact in helping to preserve a unique feature on the Canadian landscape, our cherished Acadian Forest.

The recipient of the Nature Canada Volunteer Award, Myrna Wood, shares her fellow award winners’ deep love and respect for nature. Driven by a personal mission to conserve her community’s natural heritage, Wood has worked tirelessly to protect Prince Edward County’s wildlife and habitat. She was instrumental in developing a conservation plan for an Important Bird Area (IBA), and has since been an ardent advocate for the birds that depend on the Prince Edward County South Shore IBA for habitat.

Protecting essential habitat has earned Nature Manitoba the Nature Canada Affiliate Award. This grass-roots organization is making a difference in their part of the country by protecting and preserving some of the province’s most vulnerable natural treasures, and connecting people to nature through its year-round indoor and outdoor programs. After decades of survey work, Nature Manitoba helped create a prairie preserve in southeastern Manitoba, ensuring the survival of grasses, flowers and wildlife unique to this area. More recently, it has worked closely with provincial conservation partners and the Mosakahiken Cree Nation to protect Little Limestone Lake, by far the largest and most impressive marl lake in the world.

“Like this year’s award winners, Nature Canada is devoted to the cause of protecting wildlife and habitats in Canada, and engaging people to help build a Nature Nation – a place where threatened species are protected, habitat is conserved, and people embrace a culture of conservation in their everyday lives,” said Davidson. “These conservation heroes are examples to us all.”

Backgrounder

Douglas H. Pimlott Award

Douglas H. Pimlott was a renowned conservationist, wildlife biologist, ecologist and environmentalist. Many consider him to be the founder of the modern environmental movement in Canada. Created over 30 years ago, it is Nature Canada's preeminent award. It is given to an individual whose outstanding contributions to Canadian conservation serve as an example to us all. Recipients of this award join other leading conservationists like Monte Hummel, Robert Bateman, Rosemary Fox, Colin Stewart, and George Archibald.

2011 Award Recipient: Robert Bancroft

Robert Bancroft has devoted his life to teaching, consulting, writing and advocating for Canadian wildlife and the protection of habitats, especially the Acadian forest, making his nomination particularly timely in this International Year of Forests. He has served on the faculty of St. Francis Xavier University, and as Chair of The Nova Forest Alliance and past Chair of Nature Nova Scotia. His expertise has made Bancroft a sought after consultant on fisheries, forestry, wildlife and woodland management. He has worked closely with Mi'kmaq communities, and has been wildlife biologist for Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forests. In 2007 Bancroft was named Woodlot Owner of the year for good forest management on his own woodlot property in rural Antigonish county. He writes wildlife related articles for a number of magazines, including Saltscapes, and the Mi'kmaq-Maliseet Nations News, and since 1989, he has been a regular on the CBC Maritime Noon Wildlife call-in show, answering questions about nature. In his spare time, he visits schools and community groups as a volunteer to educate people young and old about creatures and their habitats.

Charles Labatiuk Volunteer Award

This award recognizes a Canadian youth under the age of 18 for their outstanding commitment to volunteerism or mentorship, and their work promoting or protecting Canadian wildlife and natural spaces. Charles Labatiuk was an avid nature conservationist, mountaineer and world traveler who enjoyed and excelled as a photographer, writer, gardener, and pianist. Established through the legacy gift of Charles Labatiuk and the Charles Labatiuk Nature Endowment Fund, this award honours his life and his passion for nature.

2011 Award Recipient: Annie Buckton

Annie Buckton is a budding artist from Southampton, Ontario. During summers spent at her family’s cottage near Sauble Beach, she developed a love for nature. She became particularly fond of the Piping Plover. Annie would keenly observe the work of a dedicated group of naturalists and bird lovers who would watch over and protect these endangered shorebirds. When Annie found out that the Piping Plover would be passing through the oil-stricken Gulf of Mexico during its annual migration, she was determined to help. A few phone calls later, the Southampton Art Gallery – inspired by Annie’s desire to make a difference – took up the cause. Together, they raised funds for the Gulf disaster relief through an art exhibition. Annie’s work on behalf of the Piping Plover demonstrated the kind of nature ethic that Charles Labatiuk’s life embodied.

Nature Canada Volunteer Award

Nature Canada values its volunteers and recognizes their efforts to increase Nature Canada's ability to effectively expand its conservation work. This award recognizes the efforts of individuals who provide valuable time and effort contributing to a Nature Canada project.

2011 Award Recipient: Myrna Wood

Myrna Wood is a long-time naturalist in Prince Edward County and has served many functions on the Board of Directors with the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists (PECFN), including President. She was instrumental in the development of the IBA Conservation Plan for the Prince Edward County South Shore Important Bird Area in 2001. Since then, she has been an ardent advocate for the IBA, and most recently has led the PEDFN’s opposition to Gilead Inc.’s proposed wind energy plant on the Ostrander Point Crown Land Block in the heart of the IBA. Over the past two years, she has worked closely with Nature Canada and Ontario Nature on this campaign.

Affiliate Award

This award recognizes the conservation efforts of a partner organization whose accomplishments have benefitted nature in a significant way.

2011 Award Recipient: Nature Manitoba

Nature Manitoba offers a wide variety of indoor and outdoor programs year-round that connect people to nature. These include guided wilderness adventure tours to the Mantario Wilderness Education Centre deep in the heart of Manitoba's Whiteshell, and workshops for people who want to dig deep into the wonders of nature under the guidance of an expert.

Beyond their efforts to connect people to nature, Nature Manitoba is also active in protecting and preserving some of the province’s most vulnerable natural treasures. In the 1980s, Nature Manitoba launched a systematic survey to locate the surviving remnants of the tall-grass prairie, a beautiful and productive piece of the prairies. Due to its fertile soils, it was transformed by settlers to grow cereals and forage crops – only a fraction of the tall-grass prairies remains today. Nature Manitoba ensured that the largest tracts of tall-grass prairie, found near the towns of Tolstoi and Gardenton in southeastern Manitoba, were protected by creating a Preserve. In 1989, the Critical Wildlife Habitat Program, involving seven conservation organizations, began securing lands in the Tolstoi-Gardenton area for a prairie preserve. Today, over 2000 hectares of tall-grass prairie are protected within this Preserve. Encouraged by this success, Nature Manitoba has been working closely with nature conservation organizations and the Mosakahiken Cree Nation to protect Little Limestone Lake – arguably the most spectacularly beautiful lake in Manitoba – by ensuring it is included within the boundaries of a provincial park.

For more information, please contact:

Chris Sutton
Director, Communications
613-323-3331
csutton@naturecanada.ca

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