Guest letter from the editor

John Lounds (Photo by Mike Ford)

Dear friends,

Many of us have had our lives turned upside down in the past few months. But perhaps nature has also provided you with little flashes of joy and a respite from the news.

Despite lockdowns and physical distancing, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) team has been working hard to keep our promise to conserve the natural areas that sustain us all. This spring, we continued to add conservation lands to our portfolio. Starting in early May, as restrictions began to ease in some provinces, some of our field staff began their summer stewardship work and we started to reopen our trails. I urge you to continue to check our website on a regular basis for updates on access to the natural areas near you.

I want to assure you your gifts remain hard at work, protecting Canada’s most precious natural spaces and the species that live there. We will not lose sight of this vital work, even in these trying times. Finally, I also want to acknowledge the anger and sadness brought to the forefront by recent acts of racism and injustice here in Canada and around the world. Conservationists cannot remain silent on systemic racism nor the marginalization of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour, LGBTQ+ people, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups.

At NCC, we believe that nature needs to be accessible to everyone, and recognize that this is not yet the case. Our values are rooted in a respect for people and nature. We can and will do more to amplify voices of minority communities and vulnerable people in our work and through our influence. I hope you and your loved ones are safe and look forward to celebrating nature with you just as soon as it is safe to do so.

John Lounds

President & CEO