Island Nature Trust surpasses 10,000 acres of protected land on P.E.I.
CBC
Island Nature Trust is celebrating a milestone: surpassing 10,000 acres of protected land on Prince Edward Island.
The latest donation to the conservation group came, in part, because of post-tropical storm Fiona.
"We bought this land thinking that we were going to be putting a cabin on it, and after Fiona, we had a certain amount of tree fall," said Bruce Craig, the co-donor of the latest 15 acres and a former board member with the trust.
"We decided that it was time to actually connect this up with the Blooming Point woodland natural area, which was the Island Nature Trust land which is directly adjacent to ours."
"It's all about connectivity, trying to bring smaller parcels in to join the larger parcels, because that's what really allows for decent natural resource conservation."
Island Nature Trust was created in 1979 by a group of volunteers with the goal of conserving ecologically significant land. Since then, the organization has protected 98 natural areas on P.E.I., including wetlands, forests, grasslands, and shorelines.
Reaching the 10,000-acre mark was "great news," said Dan McAskill, one of the founding members.
"When we had the idea of creating the trust and actually setting aside natural areas, that was simply a dream. So we've accomplished part of the dream," he said.
"It's a feeling of achievement… thinking about future generations, and what is possible when people work together."
McAskill said he thinks attitudes around natural areas have improved since Island Nature Trust got its start.
"There's been a lot of education programs, so people understand at least the concept of setting aside land for future generations and in perpetuity," he said.
"It can be a memorial donation, or it could be land. It could be education. There's all kinds of ways that people can contribute, not just financially."
The 15 acres that Bruce and Patricia Craig donated, on Old Bedford Road, was the plot that gave Island Nature Trust its milestone.
The parcel includes forest land, riparian land, a river, and habitat for endangered species.