Author: Ben Russell

Indigenous Knowledge: The Key to Conservation for PEI

Ben Russell

Abegweit or Epekwitk / Prince Edward Island has been afflicted by climate change for centuries by mismanagement of land and resources, as have many other Islands in the world.  

With rising sea level, inadequate provincial adaptive measures, and 90% of the land on Epekwitk being privately owned, the ill-effects on the land are hard to ignore. It is up to the Province, the Abegweit Mi’kmaq First Nations, and small conservation groups like Island Nature Trust and watershed groups on Epekwitk, to not only conserve, but to sustain the biodiversity on this unique land.   

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MapleCross fund and Island Nature Trust ensure Lewes forest remains protected

Ben Russell

Island Nature Trust launches search for new Executive Director

Lewes forest, in King’s County, is one of Prince Edward Island’s many natural treasures and it will now be protected forever thanks to the MapleCross fund and Island Nature Trust donors.

Ella Stewart is one of many Islanders who feels a deep connection with nature and has made a thoughtful decision to keep it in its natural state. She and her family, especially her late husband John, cared for the Lewes forest for decades, managing it well from the end of the second World War until John’s passing a few years ago. As the forest held so many wonderful memories, they wanted to see the natural space conserved. Worried that the land would be converted to blueberry fields, Ella was relieved when Island Nature Trust offered to buy the land and protect it forever.

MapleCross Upland Hardwood Natural Area

Thanks to a majority contribution from the MapleCross Fund and additional generous donations from 25 Islanders, Island Nature Trust was able to secure the Lewes property. This beautiful 109-acre property contains old growth upland hardwood Maritime Acadian – Wapane’kati forest, now rare in Prince Edward Island and the Maritimes as a whole. Mature eastern hemlock, white pine, sugar maple, red maple, American beech and yellow birch are present in an uneven aged mixed wood mosaic, providing tremendous value as a seed source for surrounding younger forests. Two headwaters streams begin within the property and support a diverse array of wildlife, including at least one pair of the threatened songbird, olive-sided flycatcher.

This forest also abuts the homestead property of former Premier and conservationist, J. Angus MacLean. The marriage of these two well-stewarded forest areas secures inter-connectivity and greater movement for wildlife in a larger forested block. Due to the dedication of a community of conservationists, the MapleCross Upland Hardwood Natural Area is now protected forever.

Executive Director Sought

As announced at its Annual General Meeting in September, Island Nature Trust is currently searching for a new Executive Director to focus more intently on organizational growth and development.

The Executive Director is the Trust’s senior staff position and team leader, with overall responsibility for all aspects of the organization‘s operations including high level fundraising to support land acquisition and stewardship, programs, staff, and finances, as well as direct accountability for member, donor and strategic partner relationships.

Quick Facts

  • The Island Nature Trust was created in 1979.
  • The Trust is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors who provide the strategic direction and priorities for the organization.
  • The Trust is committed to environmentally and socially responsible management of natural areas on PEI.
  • The Trust is a key provider of technical, science-based knowledge on land stewardship and wildlife on PEI for landowners, governments, and partner environmental groups.

Associated Links

maplecross.ca

AGM 2020 REVIEW: Hon. J. Angus MacLean Natural Areas Award & New Board Members Announcement

Ben Russell

Island Nature Trust Enters Fifth Decade with Renewed Sense of Purpose

Ben Russell

Four new Directors named to the Board and search for new Executive Director begins

Island Nature Trust is a non-profit, membership driven, private registered charity dedicated to the permanent protection of natural areas on Prince Edward Island.

On Thursday, the organization held its Annual General Meeting in Charlottetown. It was an occasion to thank members and those who donated land and financial support to the Trust, as well as to present the way forward for the Island-led non-profit that has acquired and protected environmentally vulnerable land since 1979. For Island Nature Trust, the way forward includes greater community engagement, an improved rate of land acquisition and a new approach to stewardship.

The board, staff and general members of Island Nature Trust spoke to an escalation in the pace of change on PEI, both from development and climate perspectives. This creates a growing sense of urgency to protect an integrated, robust network of natural areas to serve future generations of Islanders.

To better face the challenges ahead, the current Executive Director, Megan Harris, will move into a strategic role focused on acquisition and stewardship. The Trust will now begin the search for a new Executive Director, a position that will now emphasize organizational growth and development.

The organization’s strategic renewal was also accompanied by the nomination of four new Directors to the board of Island Nature Trust.

Marie-Ann Bowden – During her career at the College of Law, University of Saskatchewan, Marie-Ann actively pursued research and teaching in the areas of environmental law, property and water law. Since retiring Professor Emeritus from the College, she has returned to PEI and has joined the Board of the Upton Farmlands Trust and helped secure a new Water Act with her colleagues at the Coalition for the Protection of PEI Waters.

Tyler Coady – Tyler is a Canadian Armed Forces Veteran who has obtained a B.A. Psychology (Honours) at UPEI and an M.A. Military Psychology at Adler University, Chicago. He has several published research articles and has a strong background in behavioural sciences. Combined with work in peer support and crisis negotiations, Tyler helps other veterans reconnect with nature.

Roger E. Coffin – Roger spent 20 years in the private sector as a manager and entrepreneur, followed by a career in the public sector that included business support and aerospace recruitment. Roger has been involved with outdoor organizations mainly in the areas of hunting and fishing. Roger is a life member of Margaree Salmon Association, Miramichi Salmon Association and now Island Nature Trust.

Gordon MacKay – Gordon, who has practiced law since 1980, comes to the Island Nature Trust with extensive personal and professional volunteer experience. He has served as a Commissioner on the Judicial Review Commission (PEI), the Treasurer of the Law Foundation of Prince Edward Island, and President of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. He has also chaired the Red Cross Multi-Sport Relay and the Prince Edward Island United Way Campaign, as well as the Inspire fundraising campaign of the University of Prince Edward Island.

“This is an important time for Island Nature Trust and our newly named Board members will compliment the current board’s skill set to implement the new strategic plan as we work toward an even brighter future for the natural areas in our province.”, said June Jenkins Sanderson, President of Island Nature Trust.

In addition to the naming of new Board members, the Trust also awarded the 2020 Hon. J. Angus MacLean Natural Areas Award to nominee Ms. Jeanne Maki. Ms. Maki has spent her adult life working to safeguard one of PEI’s most important and threatened ecosystems: our forests. As a testament to her dedication, she recently designated close to 100 acres of woodlands in the Pinette-Belfast area as protected natural area under the private stewardship option of the PEI Natural Areas Protection Act.

Quick Facts

  • The Island Nature Trust was created in 1979.
  • The Trust is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors who provide the strategic direction and priorities for the organization.
  • The Trust is committed to environmentally and socially responsible management of natural areas on PEI.
  • The Trust is a key provider of technical, science-based knowledge on land stewardship and wildlife on PEI for landowners, governments and partner environmental groups.

Ben Russell – Communications Manager ben@islandnaturetrust.ca

Megan Harris – Executive Director exdir@islandnaturetrust.ca

Plastic Not Fantastic: Join Us For Fall Beach Clean-ups

Ben Russell

Of all trash, plastic rubbish has the greatest potential to harm the environment, wildlife and humans. It can be found floating at the surface, suspended in the water column, or on the bottom of almost all water bodies. It is transported by rivers to the ocean, where it moves with the currents, and is often eaten by birds and fish, concentrating toxic chemicals in their tissues, and filling their stomachs, causing them to starve. Plastic aquatic debris is much more than a mere aesthetic problem.

Please help us to remove this harmful plastic and other items of rubbish from our coastline. INT is targeting two properties in September. The first clean-up on Thursday 10th is the recently acquired Percival River property in Alaska. It is one of the least developed watersheds in PEI and the largest unbroken ribbon of saltmarsh in PEI – host to a rich and diverse habitat for vulnerable wildlife.

The other location is Poverty Beach in Murray Harbour with a clean-up scheduled to take place on Thursday 17th. Poverty Beach is home to the valiant but endangered Piping Plover. With several stresses experienced already by this well-loved bird species such as human encroachment, predation and climate change, let’s give our Piping Plover friends – now migrated South for the winter – a rubbish free nesting home ready for their return next Spring.

REGISTER NOW!
ALASKA CLEAN-UP
REGISTER NOW!
POVERTY BEACH CLEAN-UP

Please spread the word as we need all the help we can get!

Thank you for your support – The Island Nature Trust Team

#givingbacktonature

HON. J. ANGUS MACLEAN NATURAL AREAS AWARD

Ben Russell

A LAST CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

Island Nature Trust is seeking nominations for the 2020 Hon. J. Angus MacLean Natural Areas Award. This award is named in honour of former Premier and conservationist, J. Angus MacLean. Individuals or groups that have made a significant and lasting difference in increasing or improving natural areas across PEI may be nominated for this prestigious annual award.

Many Islanders feel a deep connection with their land and have made a thoughtful decision to keep it in its natural state. There are also many groups throughout the Island that have put in countless hours improving and protecting natural areas.
In addition to Mr. MacLean himself in 1990, some previous winners include Eric MacPhail and Helen MacPhail for donating their 80-acre Acadian forest in Elmwood and Randy Dibblee for spearheading the mapping of wetlands with scores based on wildlife values for PEI.

Nominations for the MacLean Award should be written and as detailed as possible to allow Island Nature Trust’s awards committee to make a fully informed selection. Nominations should include brief biographies of the nominee as well as a clear outline of the work done to protect or manage natural area(s) in PEI. Guidelines for nominations and a full list of past recipients is available from Island Nature Trust. Please drop us an email at admin@islandnaturetrust.ca for further information.

The final deadline for submissions is Friday, August 28th, 2020.

NOMINATE SOMEONE TODAY!

Crown Point Coastal Headland Saved: A Wildlife Kingdom Wakes Up

Ben Russell

Crown Point headland, home to a diverse range of coastal and wetland wildlife, has been secured by Island Nature Trust thanks to the outstanding support of Environment and Climate Change Canada, MapleCross Fund, and roughly one hundred individual Islanders. When INT first invited the public to donate towards its acquisition in February, it was a land in hibernation – lying dormant under a crisp layer of snow. With Spring now fully sprung, this dynamic natural space is starting to reveal its gifts for Islanders to discover. It is a land waking up!

Amid the turbulence of COVID-19, the acquisition of Crown Point with its multitude of flora and fauna is a healing balm for the human spirit. It is a kingdom teeming with wildlife. The 120-acre land parcel now protected is a rich mix of salt marsh, coastal cliff, forested bluff and peatland habitats that provide homes for countless birds and small mammals. Water-birds forage along the tideline while harbour seals loaf offshore in a vibrant setting that will now be protected for generations of Islanders to appreciate forever.

The proximity of this undeveloped headland to the growing community of Stratford, PEI meant the window to secure its protection was limited.  Stratford is experiencing extensive population growth, placing the nearby coastal ecosystem under pressure from both land and sea.  Holding this land in trust means Island Nature Trust can protect this critical bionetwork and coastal interface in perpetuity. MapleCross Fund and individual Islanders heard the urgency of our requests for support and worked at the eleventh hour to ensure we did not need to carry a loan from our sister land trust in Nova Scotia.

With over 90% of PEI’s coastline in private ownership, human use can and does impact on the sharing of coastal resources. This stretch of shoreline with its extensive salt marsh wetlands are critical resting places for migrating shorebirds and waterfowl moving north – south on the Atlantic Migratory Flyway. Casting an eye ahead, Island Nature Trust hopes to work with new neighbours and supporters to protect the broader span of continuous saltmarsh along Pownal Bay, China Point and Orwell Bay for these long-distance wild migrants. This acquisition experience has shown us once again that we can depend on the incredible generosity of the people of Prince Edward Island as well as regional and national conservation partners to support the conservation of our iconic red Island shores.

Notes to editors:

  • Island Nature Trust is the oldest private land trust, working since 1979 to protect land in PEI and manage it responsibly. INT is an independent, membership-based, nongovernment, Canadian charity that is province-wide in scope and fuelled by the passion of Islanders for their beautiful rural island landscape. We work to conserve land for its intrinsic value so that we continue to benefit from the natural services it provides for the community – clean water, clean air and a livable environment.
  • Island Nature Trust acquires, manages, and protects forever a network of natural areas throughout PEI for the benefit of wildlife and local people. Over the course of 40 years, we have acquired and provide stewardship for over 5,000 acres of land in 53 natural areas across the province. These conservation achievements would not be possible without the engagement and continued support of Island communities. We are a key provider of technical, science-based knowledge on land stewardship and wildlife in PEI for landowners, governments, and partner environmental groups.
  • This acquisition is part  of a collaborative effort of the three regional Maritime land trusts (Island Nature Trust, Nature Trust of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Nature Trust), targeting wetland and adjoining upland securement in areas with healthy, diverse coastal and riparian wetland.
  • 118 acres have been acquired with donations of over $80,000 received from the public towards its acquisition.
  • The majority contribution was funded through the Canada Nature Fund (Environment and Climate Change Canada), North American Waterfowl Management Plan, Eastern Habitat Joint Venture supporting portion.
  • Purchase of this property by Island Nature Trust has the blessing of the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of Prince Edward Island.

Contact:

Ben Russell – Communications Manager ben@islandnaturetrust.ca

Megan Harris – Executive Director exdir@islandnaturetrust.ca