The Nature Conservancy of Canada

Building a thriving world

By Katrina McDowell on Apr 20, 2023 in Giving

Happy Earth Day! Among Yardi’s philanthropic priorities is supporting organizations that protect endangered wildlands and habitats.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is Canada’s unifying force for nature, working to deliver large-scale permanent land conservation. Established in 1962 in Toronto and Ontario, Canada, they have helped protect more than 15 million hectares nationwide.

NCC manages nature long-term through donations, purchases, and conservation agreements. When habitats are integrated and connected, and entire natural systems are conserved, nature can better deliver essential services that support life.

“By connecting landscapes that provide nature-based solutions, we’re taking care of places that clean our water, purify our air, absorb and store carbon, and support food security,” said Naomi Heller, senior development officer, and corporate development at NCC.

Protecting connected habitats also supports the species that live there, including close to one-third of Canada’s species at risk. As the leading conservation organization, NCC has a unique opportunity to contribute the skills acquired to assist Indigenous communities and nations in achieving their conservation and stewardship goals.

“With nature, we are building a thriving world,” enthused Heller.

NCC is in year two of its eight-year strategic plan, which will mobilize Canadians to accelerate conservation, doubling its impact by 2030.

“Major components of this plan include conserving an additional 1M hectares, being a key partner and ally to Indigenous Peoples through conservation, unlocking solutions to support Canada’s 30X30 targets, and growing our community of supporters to 1 million,” Heller said.

NCC plans to prioritize activities that drive these objectives, including evolving culture to foster organizational alignment, integrating marketing and fundraising across NCC to grow revenue, accelerating conservation through innovation and technology, and optimizing delivery through strategic partnerships.

Conserving the Boreal Wildlands

Yardi’s class-leading investment helped contribute to and close the most significant conservation project in Canadian history—the Boreal Wildlands in northern Ontario. With Yardi’s help in 2022, NCC acquired the 145,000-hectare/350,000-acre property to protect it from future development. Conservation work at this scale is urgently needed worldwide to help respond to the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.

“In the time since we purchased the Boreal Wildlands property in 2022, NCC’s conservation staff have been collecting data about species on the property using various methods,” shared Heller. “On-site visits, trail cameras, and even helicopter monitoring have revealed mink, fisher, lynx, wolves, otters, and many moose traversing the property’s forests and peatlands, not to mention a plethora of songbirds both seen and heard.”

The Boreal Forest is known as North America’s songbird nursery. Attracted by its plentiful food during the summer months, many species of warblers, sparrows, thrushes, and more return here every year to breed. The Boreal Wildlands property will help nurture these populations in the future. In addition, landscape protection secures species at risk and ensures ongoing carbon absorption.

“The entire team at NCC is grateful to Yardi for taking a leadership position for conservation in Canada and being a key partner to the organization. Yardi’s investment in protecting nature has a strong and measurable impact on mitigating climate change and biodiversity loss,” shared Heller.

In addition, Yardi’s funds will also help NCC manage the property in the future. NCC’s team is already at work on the ground documenting the many species of animals and plants that call this site home. This information will help NCC develop a management plan to maximize the site’s biodiversity values and ecological services.

Ongoing volunteer opportunities

Grasslands are one of the world’s most critical landscapes. Prairie regions in North America contain some of the last intact grasslands, which are under severe threat. The grasslands absorb vast volumes of carbon and are home to many at-risk species. In June this year, NCC will launch a campaign to protect 500,000 hectares / 1.2M acres of this vital landscape by 2030.

NCC regularly hosts free, public volunteer events across the country between May and September, which can be accessed here.

No time is more vital than the present to act and invest in our planet.

Find future non-profit profiles at https://www.yardi.com/blog/category/giving.