A Special Gift of Land

Northey Lake - Black Creek Wetlands

The Nature Trust of British Columbia is pleased to announce the donation of 92.7 hectares (229 acres) of land at Northey Lake-Black Creek by Oscar Kreutziger through the Federal Ecological Gifts Program. This scenic property on Vancouver Island features critical wetlands, riparian, lake and upland forest.

Funds are needed for ongoing care of this property which provides habitat for Roosevelt Elk, Columbia Black-tailed Deer, Bald Eagle, Trumpeter Swan, Northern Pintail, Great Blue Heron and many other species. In addition to providing critical Coho Salmon rearing habitat, this area provides habitat for Cutthroat Trout, Steelhead and Rainbow Trout as well as Stickleback.

If you would like to donate to the land management endowment for this special place, click here or call 604-924-9771 (toll free 1-866-288-7878).

The Opening of the Giving Season

Giving Tuesday

GivingTuesday Canada

Join us on Tuesday, December 3 for GivingTuesday, a National Giving Day!

It is a new Canadian movement for giving and volunteering, taking place each year after Cyber Monday. The "Opening day of the giving season," it is a day where charities, companies and individuals join together to share commitments, rally for favourite causes and think about others.

For more information,visit GivingTuesday.ca.

To donate online to The Nature Trust of BC for GivingTuesday, click here.

And share or tweet us your giving ideas on December 3 using hashtag #GivingTuesdayCa

At Work for Nature

Conservation Youth Crews

This summer The Nature Trust hired young people to work on Vancouver Island, Lower Mainland, Okanagan, Kootenay and Peace River. These crew members learned about conservation across the province while restoring habitat, monitoring wildlife, installing signs and removing rubbish on over 80 properties.

"I loved the idea of working outside doing manual labour because of its direct ecological restoration impact." - Fiona Beaty, Lower Mainland crew

Vancouver Island crew member monitoring Coastal Vesper Sparrows

Lower Mainland crew member putting up signage at Francis Point Provincial Park

Okanagan crew overlooking Vaseux Lake

Kootenay crew members hiking Heiko's trail near Fernie

Peace crew at Worth Marsh southwest of Fort St. John

We want to thank them for their dedication, energy and enthusiasm as well as HSBC Bank Canada for being title sponsor for the eighth year, BC Hydro, BC Ministry of Forests, Lands & Natural Resource Operations, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program, Great-West Life, the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, HRSDC, Shell Canada and The Tony Cartledge Fund.

Garage Sale

Luxury House Auction

The Nature Trust of British Columbia was thrilled to receive $12,500 from The Garage Sale Luxury Auction House.

On October 24, a private vineyard mansion known as La Sommita was sold in West Kelowna. With the lake as the backdrop, five registered bidders competed during a live auction to own the property which went for a hammer price of $3.65 million. In addition to selling La Sommita, The Garage Sale also hosted a charity auction as they are strongly committed to helping their local community.

Since 2007, they have raised over $100,000 for a wide variety of causes. For more information on this novel house sale event, click here.

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Thank You!

Wild About Nature Gala

We would like to thank the over 300 guests, along with our sponsors and donors who helped to raise much needed funds at our Wild About Nature Gala on October 2 for land conservation projects across BC.

Special thanks to Honourary Gala Chair Ross Beaty for his enthusiastic support, Capilano University's NiteCap jazz ensemble, auctioneer Tyler Olson and CTV MC Norma Reid.

Save the Date!

Upcoming Events

Community Dance!: Join Ann Schau, daughter of Ian McTaggart-Cowan and bandleader of The Dancehall Players for a community dance at Beaver Point Hall on Salt Spring Island. Donations will be gratefully accepted for the Ian McTaggart-Cowan cairn on our Skaha Lake property which is part of the new McTaggart-Cowan/nsək'ɬniw't Wildlife Management Area and for a special biography project of this amazing man who was a Nature Trust director and a renowned conservationist, zoologist and educator.

Saturday, November 16, 2 pm to 5 pm
Entrance by donation ($10 suggested)

Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival: Join Carl MacNaughton, Nature Trust Interior and Coastal Mainland Conservation Land Manager, and Justin Quong from Ducks Unlimited Canada, for the Chehalis Nature Walk during the Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival. Meet at 10 am at Chehalis River Recreational Area. On Morris Valley Road, drive 5 km and turn right, just before the Chehalis River bridge. Binoculars, comfortable hiking shoes, and proper outerwear are recommended.

Saturday, November 16, 10 am to Noon

Brant Wildlife Festival: The 2014 festival will celebrate nature on mid-Vancouver Island, especially Brant geese as they stop to rest and feed during their migration to their northern nesting grounds. The Nature Trust is coordinating the festival with help from the City of Parksville, Arrowsmith Naturalists, Parksville Museum, Deep Bay Marine Field Station and other groups and volunteers.

March 1 - April 21, 2014

Visit brantfestival.bc.ca for details.

Coffee Cutters: Join the Chilliwack Field Naturalists for their "Coffee Cutters" on the Camp River property. One hour of blackberry pruning is followed by coffee at Tim Horton's.

September to April on the first Saturday of the month at 9:00 am; May to August on the first Wednesday of the month at 6:30 pm.

Click here for more details.