Looking back: 2022 for NCC in Alberta

Boreal chickadee (Photo by Sean Feagan)

Thanks to the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) incredible supporters and the collaborative efforts of our partners, we continued to accelerate conservation in Alberta in 2022!

From the boreal to the badlands, together we conserved some special places, restored more habitat and forged new partnerships — among other great accomplishments!

Here is a recap of some of NCC’s work in Alberta in 2022:

More land conserved

NCC’s conservation work in Alberta means more important habitats, such as wetlands, forests and grasslands, are now protected in perpetuity. In total, almost 1,700 hectares were newly conserved in 2022. Here are a couple highlights:

South Wakomao Shores, a complex of wetlands and lakeshore habitats north of Edmonton, was conserved in the memory of Paul Parrent, a passionate land steward. During fall migration, this birder’s paradise is used by thousands of waterfowl, including ducks, geese and swans.

Another exciting development was the conservation of Shoderee Ranch, made possible by a conservation-minded landowner. This property features grasslands, riverside habitats and forests that support incredible wildlife, including golden eagle, elk and western grebe. It also builds upon 13,000 hectares of conserved lands in the Waterton Park Front area.

Hands-on conservation

Conservation takes work. Lots of work. And we couldn't do it alone.

Over the years, hundreds of passionate volunteers have travelled to NCC properties to help us complete critical stewardship activities across Alberta. In 2022, 145 Conservation Volunteers donated over 560 hours of their time.

The work isn’t always glamourous. For example, one important management task is removing old fencing, which is both a hazard and barrier for wildlife. In 2022, NCC held four fence removal volunteer events. Each time, volunteers rolled up their sleeves and worked tirelessly to remove kilometres of fencing.

Other activities our volunteers performed included pulling weeds, planting native species, maintaining trails and even cleaning out bird boxes for next year’s lovebirds. All will make a lasting impact for nature!

Inspiring young conservationists

In 2022, NCC in Alberta was fortunate to be joined by volunteers from the Canadian Conservation Corps (CCC).

The CCC program was dually successful, providing NCC with an opportunity to be supported by passionate and enthusiastic young Canadians, who in turn were provided with hands-on conservation experience.

Overall, eight CCC volunteers, aged 18 to 30, provided more than 1,833 hours of impactful work across the province. This included supporting volunteering events, creating communications materials and conducting work in the field, such as monitoring properties, mapping hazards and pulling weeds.

We could not have done all this work without them!

Collaboration is key

NCC does not work alone; we rely on building and maintaining partnerships with other conservation-minded individuals and organizations to ensure the best outcomes for nature.

We were involved in many interesting and impactful collaborative efforts in 2022. These include ecological restoration ventures with Project Forest and Wild + Pine, surveys for rare moths on NCC projects, and work to help species at risk recovery, such as limber pine.

Looking ahead

It was a great year, and 2023 will be even better! Join us in our efforts, by signing up for a Conservation Volunteers event near you in the spring or help us continue this impactful work by donating to NCC!