Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Salt marshes are rich in biodiversity, serving as shelter for young wildlife such as lobster and salmon, and provide waterfowl and other birds with abundant habitat. This critical habitat also helps form a natural barrier that slows wave action and reduces storm surges that can result in floods, impacting the waterfowl, wildlife, and people who call these places home.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) are working together to conserve one of the largest remaining tracts of intact Prairie grasslands and wetlands in Canada. McIntyre Ranch, located south of Lethbridge, will be conserved through an agreement (conservation easement) between the landowners and the two organizations. This 130-year-old ranch is one of the largest private landholdings in Canada, and spans over 22,000 hectares — an area more than a quarter the size of Calgary.
Members of a Canadian conservation organization are working on a project to increase biodiversity and healthy wetlands in British Columbia with the help of beavers. Ducks Unlimited Canada is mapping areas in the province where beavers can replace artificial dams once they've been decommissioned. "Beavers are a keystone species," said Jen Rogers, a master's student at Simon Fraser University working with Ducks Unlimited Canada. "They're considered ecosystem engineers."
Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) is pleased to welcome six new members to its board of directors. Supporting the organization’s mission to conserve and restore wetlands and other natural areas, these directors bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to help DUC advance sustainability, biodiversity and climate resiliency and achieve its vision of healthy wetlands and clean water for waterfowl, wildlife and people.
As one of the largest and longest-standing conservation organizations in North America that employs more than 400 employees across Canada, this award recognizes DUC’s focus on balancing the needs of its employees with the demands of achieving its vision of healthy wetlands and clean water for waterfowl, wildlife and people.
As the financial costs of climate change climb, experts and governments are quickly coming to the consensus that man-made structures won't be enough to protect coastal communities. For biologist Dan Stewart, the answer is obvious, and on a recent overcast day, he was looking at it: from the edge of the Boundary Bay dike, a more than 200 metre-thick band of salt marsh reached out to the sea.
Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) applauds the Manitoba Government's decision in designating Moswa Meadows and Fish Lake Fen as Provincially Significant Peatlands—the first of their kind in the province. Manitoba is home to 17 per cent of Canadian peatlands, with these ecologically valuable areas covering over one third of the province's landmass. Peatlands offer valuable environmental and social benefits, including water management and filtration, remarkable carbon storage capacity, and habitat for wildlife.
Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) is proud to announce that it has recently acquired six properties, totaling more than 80 hectares of wetlands in the regional county municipality of Pontiac. Located in the municipalities of Isle-aux-Allumettes and Île-du-Grand-Calumet in the Outaouais region, the various properties have great ecological value, particularly because of their strategic location on the periphery of the Ottawa River, a high-priority area for the conservation of waterfowl and their habitats.
Against the backdrop of the COP15 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, an international conference focused on halting and reversing biodiversity loss through the protection and conservation of the natural environment, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) is pleased to be named a lead conservation organization that will continue delivering the Government of Canada’s Natural Heritage Conservation Program (NHCP).
It was a warm, sunny Aug. 25 morning when we departed from the public slip at Gagetown in a flat-bottomed, aluminum boat. Our guides were three Ducks Unlimited employees: outreach specialist Samantha Brewster and conservation specialist Frank Merrill, both based in Fredericton, and Adam Campbell of the Sackville area, the group's manager of Atlantic operations.
The provincial government is investing $350,000 in a project that aims to conserve and restore wetlands along the lower Saint John River and mitigate the effects of climate change. “Our government has made it clear, protecting and preserving New Brunswick's natural areas is a priority,” said Natural Resources and Energy Development Minister Mike Holland. “This includes wetlands. Not only do wetlands provide important habitat for waterfowl and wildlife, but they also play a key role in increasing the province’s resilience to climate change.”
A stunning new nature documentary, Wings Over Water, will make its Canadian debut this Friday at the TELUS World of Science - Edmonton. The IMAX® film follows the migratory journeys of three bird species that make remarkable, and often harrowing, flights to the wetlands of North America's prairies to breed and raise their young. Audiences will be captivated by the stories of the sandhill crane, yellow warbler and mallard as they soar across one of the most important—yet little known—ecosystems on the continent.
The benefits of conserving wetlands for wildlife and recreation have long been established, but emerging research is determining that wetlands are a powerful climate mitigation tool. Already recognized as one of the most effective ecosystems at trapping and sequestering carbon and proven to act as a strong natural defence against flooding in the face of extreme weather, new research suggests we can add climate-cooling to the impressive list of wetland benefits.
When he first started, Perkins admits he got into trouble with provincial and municipal officials who he says were worried about the volume of water on his land. Jonathan Platts with Ducks Unlimited Canada works with landowners who want to build wetlands from scratch, as Perkins has done. "Constructed wetlands, starting them from scratch, and doing them right, I think you can still have very productive wetlands and ones that can certainly compliment your property and help wildlife," said Platts, who lives on P.E.I. and is the new head of wetland restoration for Ducks Unlimited in Atlantic Canada.
A group of fifteen insurance companies in the P&C space have banded together with environmental non-profit Ducks Unlimited Canada to launch The Nature Force – a climate resilience initiative aimed at focusing insurers’ investments into natural infrastructure solutions to mitigate flood risk. According to a joint statement by members of The Nature Force, nature-based solutions such as the development of wetland systems can lead to positive outcomes including increased climate resilience, biodiversity and water quality.
A report from one of the country’s largest and longest-standing conservation organizations shares the positive results it’s having on biodiversity and climate change thanks to support from Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Natural Heritage Conservation Program. During the past two years of the program, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) has delivered 106 habitat projects in areas of the country with the greatest conservation need.
It’s been two years in the making, but it’s finally complete. Ducks Unlimited Canada has recently completed a two-year restoration project at a significant wetland in the Holland Marsh. “The big push for this restoration project was for improved fish habitat,” said Jennifer Lavigne, a conservation specialist with Ducks Unlimited Canada. There isn’t a lot remaining of the historic 9,000-hectare wetlands that was once a part of the landscape as it has been converted into working fields. In Bradford West Gwillimbury, a 218-hectare wetland is still protecting wildlife and clean water, according to Ducks Unlimited Canada.
Over the past year, headlines about the environment have been bleak. Floods, droughts and fires have hit our fellow Canadians hard. But the impacts of climate change should not make us feel powerless. Wetlands are a formidable force of nature that has our back. In 2022, they can be Canada’s good news story. When you look at the ways in which people and communities are working together to conserve wetlands across the country, the good news flows like…well, water. As nations around the globe prepare to mark World Wetlands Day on February 2, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) is celebrating some important wins here at home that are making life better for wildlife, people and communities.
With global warming, the B.C. government is looking for ways to protect watersheds. On Tuesday, the province released its Watershed Security Strategy, which includes advice from Ducks Unlimited Canada, and the conservation group calls it an important step. The discussion paper explores key issues including climate change, wildlife habitats, sources of drinking water, as well as community and economic stability. Sarah Nathan, Ducks Unlimited Canada’s manager of provincial operations for B.C., was on hand for the event. She joined George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, at a virtual announcement to discuss the critical role wetlands play in the health and security of watersheds. Referencing the gamut of floods, droughts, wildfires and debris flows that devastated the province this past year, Nathan stressed that protecting and bolstering wetlands is a must.
Ontario is investing $30 million over five years to restore 60 wetlands in the province, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited (DU) Canada. Environment Minister Jeff Yurek made the announcement in St. Thomas, Ont. on Wednesday morning, telling those in attendance the new projects will help improve water quality, preserve habitat and help with impact of climate change.
