[separator headline=”h3″ title=”Conservation Efforts Have to Reach Across Borders”]

Eleanor Fast
Executive Director

Birds and other wildlife don’t recognize borders – and conservation efforts have to reach across borders too. Last weekend I participated in National Audubon’s biennial convention near Washington, DC. Hundreds of people gathered from Audubon chapters across the US to develop projects and partnerships and share experiences to improve the conservation of birds and other nature in their neighbourhoods. The buzz was contagious and inspiring.

I was at the convention as part of a large gathering of our BirdLife partners from across the Americas to discuss how we can work even more effectively across international boundaries to protect birds. This is enormously important of course as many of our Canadian birds aren’t fully Canadian but migrate huge distances every year to wintering sites in Latin America and the Caribbean. Nature Canada recognizes this continually in our work, for example in learning more about Purple Martins, in protecting Whooping Crane habitat both here in Canada and in Texas, and in spearheading efforts to protect the Canada Warbler among many others. Moving forward, we will also be a leading partner, working with Audubon and Mexico’s ProNatura in developing a grasslands strategy for North America, building on our exciting successes in protecting habitat and species – especially the iconic sage grouse – in Canada.

[separator headline=”h3″ title=”Going Far Beyond Birds”]As a Canadian co-partner of BirdLife, the international dimension of our work is always on our minds, and it goes far beyond birds: we also have many other international linkages; for example Nature Canada is a member of the International Union of Conservation for Nature (IUCN) and this winter I pleased to be elected to the Board of the Canadian Committee to the IUCN which provides Nature Canada with an important voice in international conservation. We also participate in many international fora, such as the international parks congress.

Nature Canada is a leader in international conservation efforts and the weekend in Washington renewed my determination to continue the difficult work of building partnerships and working together across borders to protect the nature we all love. I hope you will join me in that determination – it is thanks to all our members and supporters that we are able to protect Canadian wildlife and habitats – wherever they are.