902-425-5263 (LAND)
Our Work
The
Nova Scotia Nature Trust works with private landowners and other partners to
protect significant natural areas throughout the province. We protect these
lands primarily through acquisition and conservation
easements. In addition, we carry out many campaigns
and projects to identify and protect places of unique environmental value
and to educate Nova Scotians on how to be responsible stewards of our natural
heritage.
We have indeed made important progress. Through generous donations by landowners province-wide, we have acquired properties ranging from woodlands and islands to coastal and lakeshore sites. These holdings preserve unique and significant natural features including old forests, wetlands, and rare plant communities.
When acquisition isn't an option, the Nature Trust has advanced the use of conservation easements as a tool for protecting private lands. Easements protect the natural values of the the property in perpetuity, while allowing the owner to retain title to the land. In 1997 the Nature Trust signed its first conservation easement on the Bras d'Or Lakes in Cape Breton and has since acquired many others throughout the province.
Sustainability
After
a property has been secured, or an easement placed on it, our work is far from
done. The Nature Trust is then the permanent steward of that land and must ensure
that its ecological integrity is forever protected. Towards that end, we maintain
an extensive stewardship program that involves Nature Trust staff, professional
biologists, neighbouring landowners and many volunteers. This work includes
property clean ups, boundary protection, removal of invasive vegetation and
reintroduction of native species, site monitoring, and property tax maintenance.
Sustainability is more than a goal for the Trust, it is the very heart of our
work.