Keep The Rock Rugged
New and enhanced nature conservation efforts outlined in NL
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has launched a new, ambitious three-year campaign for the protection of natural areas across Newfoundland and Labrador. The Keep the Rock Rugged campaign aims to advance conservation and restoration in the province.
At just under seven per cent, Newfoundland and Labrador has the third-smallest percentage of protected land of any province in the country. With Canada setting an international commitment of protecting 30 per cent of its lands and waters by 2030, NCC wants to contribute to these efforts locally through conservation, restoration and stewardship projects that help address the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.
The campaign has a total goal of $3 million, with $1 million already committed. People can learn more by visiting Keep the Rock Rugged.
Goals for the Keep the Rock Rugged campaign include:
- Help expand NCC’s existing nature reserves, including at Salmonier River and Grand Codroy Estuary.
- Double the number of youth internships per year.
- Increase volunteer and community engagement activities, such as shoreline restorations, tree plantings and bird counts.
- Undertake new research projects on the land that will better inform conservation efforts and help wildlife and communities.
- Invest in new technology that will allow staff to collect information faster and result in more effective conservation outcomes at NCC’s 11 nature reserves in Newfoundland and Labrador.
“The Patten Family Foundation is a proud contributor of the Keep the Rock Rugged Campaign,” says Nichole Patten, of the Patten Family Foundation. “Knowing that such a small portion of our land is protected really emphasizes the importance of this campaign. It’s imperative that conservation efforts are made priority in our province to ensure we, and future generations, are able to continue to reap the benefits nature offers to our physical and mental well-being and to the community as a whole.”
Since 1996, NCC has helped conserve over 5,600 hectares in Newfoundland and Labrador by working with local residents who have agreed to sell or donate their lands along with other community partnerships.
“Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have such strong bonds to the land, water and sea, and I hope they will give their support in protecting some of our most cherished natural spaces,” said Piers Evans, NCC program director in Newfoundland and Labrador. "Our charitable organization has and will continue to work closely with our conservation partners, the province and Indigenous communities toward achieving more and better conservation.”
About
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is the nation's leading not-for-profit, private land conservation organization, working to protect our most important natural areas and the species they sustain. Since 1962, NCC and its partners have helped to conserve 14 million hectares, coast to coast to coast.
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