Nature groups “make room for species” across Canada with summer events
At Nature Canada one of our core missions is to get people outside discovering nature and wildlife. We also know it isn’t enough to passively protect parks and natural areas—we need to inspire nature lovers to take action.
This summer we were proud to support nature groups across the country who organized hikes, field trips and presentations to spread awareness of the importance of protecting wildlife species by doubling protected areas in Canada by 2020. Our network headed out into their communities and engaged hundreds of Canadians in new experiences while supporting petitions calling for more protected areas in Canada.
Check out some of the amazing events organized below!
Families from Calgary took a field trip to Mount Yamnuska on Sept. 7, where Katrina from the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation and Vicki from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society of Southern Alberta led educational events focused on local wildlife and habitats.
Children and parents got the chance to see first-hand how our natural environment is being damaged during a three-hour hike—and how important it is to protect what we have left.
On July 18 our partners in Saskatchewan hosted a dinner Conservation Awareness event. Nature Saskatchewan staff shared stories about helping animals like Burrowing Owls, Piping Plovers and Loggerhead Shrikes.
Natural grassland habitat is one of the landscapes disappearing fastest from our planet – but not everyone knows that. The summer event helped encourage locals to sign our petition calling for more grassland habitat to be protected.
Across Alberta, the Alberta Wilderness Association organized seven summer hikes, including visits to diverse habitats like grasslands, parkland, foothills and of course, the Rockies. All in, the Wilderness Association welcomed 121 hikers over the summer. There is probably no better place than the trail to discuss nature issues like Canada’s Target 1 goals or how we can better shape the province’s parks network to protect migratory animals and learn about endangered species such as the Sage Grouse.
In Fredericton volunteers from Nature New Brunswick brought the Protected Areas message (and a tree!) to the Boyce Farmers’ Market. Locals were able to join the campaign to double protected areas and made “nature wishes” to hang in the tree – including hopes for more outdoor adventure and clean air and water.
These are just examples of some of the ways our partners continually reach out to Canadians to encourage them to connect with and defend our nature. We look forward to working with partners next year on even more summer events to build public support and awareness of the plight of species and how Canada needs to #MakeRoomForNature.
