Some of Canada’s most endangered species have been protected, forever, in Nova Scotia.
The Nova Scotia Nature Trust is celebrating a 460-acre land acquisition in southwest Nova Scotia, to be known as the Jack and Darlene Stone Conservation Lands.
Over five kilometers of shoreline on four different lakes near Springhaven, Yarmouth County, provides critical habitat for two plants at the top of Canada’s endangered species list– the Pink Coreopsis and the Plymouth Gentian.
Nova Scotia has the only populations of the two endangered plants in all of Canada, and some of their best remaining habitat on the planet. With these critical sites, all within the Tusket River watershed, facing threats through cottage and summer home development, the Nature Trust’s conservation achievement is timely and significant.
“We often look to exotic, far away places when we think about endangered species, but right here in Nova Scotia we have unique plants and animals that are at risk of extinction in Canada. In some cases, they are at risk of extinction in the world,” says Nature Trust executive director Bonnie Sutherland. “The Nature Trust’s new conservation lands make an important, global contribution to biodiversity conservation.”
The property had long been known as one the most important sites in Nova Scotia for endangered plants. Just as a window of opportunity to acquire the coveted property finally opened, an unexpected charitable gift made its conservation and long-term stewardship possible.
Jack and Darlene Stone were passionate birders and nature lovers, who became faithful Nature Trust volunteers and members. They wanted to make a big impact on land conservation, yet like many Nova Scotians they didn’t have the means to donate a big cash gift. So they began to explore innovative, alternative ways to do something big for nature. They were the first landowners to donate property that could be traded or sold to raise funds to acquire lands of high conservation priority – pioneering the concept of ‘trade lands’ for the Nature Trust, a potential future source of significant conservation funds.
Yet they wanted to do more. They discovered the charitable gift opportunity in life insurance. For a small annual premium (recognized as a tax-deductible charitable gift), they acquired insurance policies benefiting the Nature Trust. When Jack Stone passed away late last year, the proceeds provided a very generous gift, the critical final funds that sealed the deal on this high priority conservation property. His wife was delighted to be part of something so significant.
“Through insurance we could donate so much more than we could ever afford to give on our own,” she said.
Earlier this week, Mrs. Stone and her women’s hiking club companions had the honour of being the first visitors to the property, named in honour of the couple for their incredible generosity and commitment to nature.
The Nature Trust is excited to see more of its members discovering such creative ways to make a big impact on protecting Nova Scotia’s natural legacy, through creative giving options like bequests, life insurance policies, RRSPs and charitable trusts.
“The story behind these conservation lands is so inspiring because it shows how average Nova Scotians, without significant financial means, can still make an extraordinary difference in protecting the province they love, just as Jack and Darlene have done,” says Sutherland.
Additional major contributions to the land acquisition project were made by the Government of Canada’s Habitat Stewardship Program and the Nova Scotia Crown Share Land Legacy Trust and corporate support from Aveda, Ascenta Health and the Imperial Oil Charitable Foundation.
The new conservation lands are the most ecologically significant property ever protected in the Nature Trust’s 16-year history, and one of the most important endangered species sites in Nova Scotia. The Nature Trust has permanently protected over 5500 acres of Nova Scotia’s most unique places, including 14 properties protecting endangered species.
