A Year to Remember: 2022 in Review

2022 was a record year for The Nature Trust of BC.

We acquired 10 properties across the province, adding a total of 2,067 acres (836.5 hectares) to The Nature Trust’s treasury of conservation land. These new acquisitions included conservation areas in many parts of the province, from the Keremeos Columns – MapleCross Grassland in the Okanagan to the Money Creek and Mount Fisher Bluffs conservation areas on Saturna Island. These acquisitions protected a variety of habitats for threatened species, including the Barn Swallow, Flammulated Owl, and American Badger. We also conserved a variety of ecosystem types, including ecologically valuable peatlands near Prince George and grasslands along Skaha Lake, in the White Lake Basin Biodiversity Ranch, and near Keremeos Columns Provincial Park.

Once again, the Conservation Field Crews did incredible work managing Nature Trust land in each of their four regions. The Okanagan Crew taught future generations about the importance of land conservation while the Kootenay Crew ran a successful collaboration with Wildsight to restore parts of the Big Ranch conservation area. The West Coast Crew visited numerous estuaries up and down the coast to restore salmon spawning habitats while the South Coast Crew did a great job protecting threatened plant and animal populations in the Lower Mainland.

The West Coast Conservation Land Management Partnership (WCCLMP) undertook two major restoration projects on Vancouver Island. They partnered with the Snuneymuxw First Nation, Department of Fisheries & Oceans, and Lafarge Canada, to create new channels for salmon migration by clearing gravel and transplanting Lyngbye’s Sedge on the Nanaimo Estuary. On the Xwésam (Salmon) River, artificially blocked river channels were breached and new bridges built alongside a variety of partners, including the K’omoks Guardian Watchmen, Leighton Contracting, and OnSite Engineering.

The Nature Trust was fortunate to collaborate with many new partners in 2022. US folk band The Wood Brothers donated a dollar (US) from every ticket sold to support The Nature Trust’s conservation efforts in BC. Every dollar was matched with two from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, so more endangered wetlands in BC can be saved. Our partnership with The Wood Brothers will continue through 2023. The Nature Trust also joined with Vancouver used sports store Sports Junkies to offer a unique donation program, in which used sports equipment can be donated to Sports Junkies and proceeds from the sale of these items is donated to The Nature Trust.

It was a landmark day when The Nature Trust celebrated the donation of 71 acres at the Englishman River from Emil Anderson Group and the signing of a Stewardship and Management Agreement with Snaw-Naw-As First Nation. This ecologically valuable land, renamed the Englishman River – Kw’a’luxw – Emil Anderson Legacy Forest was added to the Englishman River – Kw’a’luxw Conservation Complex in perpetuity.

Finally, 2022 was a big year for events at The Nature Trust. After hosting the Brant Wildlife Festival in February and Tacos for the Trust at La Taqueria in May, we returned to the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver for our first in-person Fall Gala since 2019. Everyone had a wonderful night, and we were honoured to raise over $1.5 million in donations as part of our Working with Nature campaign. It was amazing to see everyone’s faces again after a two-year hiatus, and we look forward to seeing you at our 2023 Fall Gala, later this year.

Moreover, countless local businesses, artists, and donors came together to make our silent and live auctions a massive success. We really appreciate all of your incredible donations.

The Nature Trust worked with many other partners, sponsors, and donors throughout 2022 and we are especially proud of how many people stepped up and contributed to this incredible year for conservation. Thank you for your amazing generosity!