For Marjan and Craig Willett, life has never been about a set destination; it’s about the journey, and the people they meet along the way. Setting their sights on adventure has led them over the southern U.S. by a car, hiking over mountain ridges, biking over sandy dunes and traveling to windswept islands in remote reaches of the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way they learned about cultures and leaned on the kindness of strangers, which had them asking themselves how they could pay this kindness forward.

This thread has woven its way across their travels and into every community they have lived in. That includes rural Ontario, where they ran a native plant nursery and garden centre and where Marjan and Craig were active volunteers in their local community. When they eventually sold the business, they began looking for a place to retire in Canada. Their search first took them west, before leading them back east to Nova Scotia. Lulled by the ocean nearby and nature just at the doorstep of the city, Marjan and Craig set out once again to get involved in their new community.

Before they arrived, Craig had heard of the Nova Scotia Nature Trust. But it was when they were walking by the office on their daily walks in Dartmouth that the couple decided to go in, meet the team, and see how they could get involved. 

“When the team asked where we wanted to go, we turned it around and said, ‘Where do you need help the most?’” the couple recalls. “That’s how we ended up at Pennant River and later the Blue Mountain Wilderness Area.”

One of their most memorable moments in the Blue Mountain Wilderness Area came at the end of last year, when the entire family set out to explore the property in the middle of winter. With several feet of snow on the ground, the trek involved heavy bushwhacking, careful navigation, and even leaping over an icy stream without falling in. They pressed on until the fading light of the setting sun signaled it was time to turn back.

That sense of adventure, the challenge of taking on a property with no clear trails and plenty of obstacles, is exactly what excites Marjan and Craig. It not only fuels their volunteer work today, but also connects them back to the spirit of exploration and adventure that has defined so much of their past.

Both Marjan and Craig grew up with nature as a major influence. Marjan, raised in the Netherlands, found her love of adventure hiking with her family in the Alps. With no GPS in those days, wayfinding became second nature, and the joy of “what’s around the next corner” stayed with her into adulthood. Craig’s path was shaped on a small farm in Ontario, where he spent countless hours in forests and fields. His early career as a park ranger and warden in Alberta and Ontario set the foundation for his connection to wild places.

The couple recommends not only getting outside, but doing so with a spirit of service, where you can tangibly see the impact of giving your time. For them volunteering is an intrinsic human act, one that transcends culture and language. It is the simple yet powerful choice to step up and be there for others, for nature, and for the planet. And in that choice, they believe, lies both adventure and connection.

When asked what they would share with others considering volunteering with the Nova Scotia Nature Trust, Marjan and Craig emphasized the low barriers to entry, the fulfillment that comes from giving your time, and the chance to make a meaningful difference for nature and wild places close to home. As Marjan puts it simply, “Go into the wilderness. Go and explore.”

Their message is clear: set your compass to service. Step into your community, lend your time to people and the planet, and remember that it’s all connected, and we all depend on each other.

Thank you to Marjan and Craig for their inspiring volunteer service! To learn more about our Property Guardians program, visit our Property Guardians page.