Where land meets sky
Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area, SK (Photo by Mark Taylor)
The sky was clear over the vast, windy prairie. In the distance, plains bison could be seen grazing on the native grass that covers the entirety of the Old Man on His Back (OMB) Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area, located in southern Saskatchewan.
Saskatchewan is no stranger to gusty days. And for Jennifer McKillop and her son, Jud, today was an opportunity to become acquainted with the sometimes-unforgiving weather of Canada’s prairies.
A great place for kite flying
Each time the wind picked up, Jud would squeeze his mother’s hand tightly, as if she was the only thing keeping him grounded. It was a windy day for a walk, and a great day for kite flying.
“In the back of my incredibly messy soccer-mom minivan, under a pile of camping gear, was a kite that had been partially destroyed during a previous visit to our local park,” says Jennifer. “We needed to fly a kite, so I patched it up with a beer box and some duct tape.”
The kite took off without hesitation and began to dance in the sky, flipping around madly while Jud held onto wobbling spool of string. Jennifer rushed over to her son and clasped her hands over his fists to hold the kite steady. After a few minutes, the wind quieted and the kite was drifting peacefully high up above the two of them.
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A place where memories are made
OMB is an excellent example of our remaining mixed prairie grasslands. (Photo by Mark Taylor)
A sense of tranquility rushed over Jennifer. Looking around, she took in the all-encompassing grasslands of OMB and understood why this land should be conserved for future generations.
“I distinctly remember walking out of the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) interpretive centre, standing on the rail fence with my son, watching barn swallows dip and weave, and wondering, ‘How does someone get a gig like this?’” she says.
It was on that day that Jennifer realized her passion for grassland conservation and her need to pursue a job in this field. Before her trip out to the site, she had read Sharon Butala’s book The Perfection of the Morning, about the author’s move from the city to the grasslands Jennifer was standing on. Sharon’s husband, Peter, took over the ranch from his father, who tended to it since moving to Saskatchewan in 1913. Reading about Sharon’s connection with her home had led Jennifer to visit OMB.
“Sharon’s journey to discover the deep meaning of the landscape inspired me to visit OMB; a place that in turn inspired me to work for NCC,” says Jennifer.
Sharon and Peter donated the land to NCC in 1996. In the winter of 2003, a small herd of plains bison from Elk Island National Park in Alberta were driven back to their historic grazing grounds at OMB by NCC staff. Peter’s dream of conserving the land for future generations of bison to live on and people to explore was understood, met and pursued by NCC staff.
A place to smell the sage, hear the prairie birds and fly a kite in an enormous sky
Plains bison, Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area, SK (Photo by NCC)
Ten years later, as regional vice-president for NCC's Saskatchewan Region, Jennifer visits OMB regularly. And each time, she treks out to the bison rubbing stone located on the prairie to leave some tobacco to honour the land, bison and the original Indigenous caretakers of these lands.
"I realize this is not a custom of my own people," she admits. "But it is what our Indigenous partners have taught me to do when I am grateful, and when I am honouring the land. It feels like the right thing to do in this place. I can’t help but think that if everyone could visit these grasslands — smell the sage, hear the prairie birds, fly a kite in an enormous sky — they would be inspired too.”
To learn more about NCC's other Nature Destinations across Canada, visit naturedestinations.ca.
About the Author
Raechel Wastesicoot is the manager, internal communications and culture at the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
