Skipping “swatting mosquitoes season”, Barry Spencer finds winter the best time to visit the properties he volunteers on. When it’s quiet and the marshy terrain is frozen, he dons snowshoes and treks out into his favourite season, when he has the best luck getting to some of the hard-to-reach places. “I love the winter. Always have. I always spend a lot of time in the woods in the wintertime. I don’t know why. I just like the cold. I know, I know. It’s a small club!”

In anticipation of a new season in life, where he will be retiring from his career as a high school teacher, Barry Spencer has reflected on one of the things that really means a lot to him: the preservation of nature. It seemed natural to find an organization dedicated to that; he came across the Nova Scotia Nature Trust in an online search and reached out to become a Wilderness Property Guardian.

Barry has always loved being outdoors. He notes that over the last 10 years he has noticed big changes in the forest he likes to frequent; each time he walks in it, he is noticing how it’s shifting. “The fact that we don’t have the same kind of environment that we used to have, just in this forest alone, there have been so many changes.” This spurred Barry further to want to give back to something that means a lot to him: helping preserve these wild places.

His most recent trip to a Nature Trust property was just a few weeks ago. He went out to one of the properties on Pleasant River, approximately 40 minutes from Halifax, towards Kejimkujik. It is a familiar place to him, as it’s a spot he and his son enjoy canoeing during the summer months. Barry felt that there were points of this particular property that he had never been able to reach. That is, until this very winter. It was a particularly cold and wintry day, where everything was frozen, so he was able to go beyond where he had ever been by crossing the ice on his snowshoes. It was at this moment, when he was able to look back and survey the landscape from a fresh angle, that he spotted an animal den! Unsure who called it home, he returned with a photo for our team; with no prints nearby, our best guess is that it’s probably an otter’s den!

“That was pretty cool. It was a beautiful winter day, and I had my snowshoes on, and it was just moments like that which validate my decision to get involved with Nature Trust. This is something that I think will be good for me for a long time.”

One of Barry’s takeaways is that he has become pretty acquainted with these properties. For example, he reflects that he has probably visited Vogler’s Cove six or seven times, walking the same path and the same trails many times now.

“As you go more and more, you know what you’re looking for, and you know, OK, here’s this little space that you know, and it’s interesting that you just come to really love these places that you go to see.”

When asked if he would recommend volunteering to others, he encouraged anyone who spends time outdoors and enjoys and loves the outdoors to reach out. Watching the Nature Trust grow year after year, seeing new properties protected in the monthly newsletter, means there are always new possibilities opening up for volunteers. He has also found that there are unique experiences here that you won’t find anywhere else, like chances to help with coastline clean-ups, bioblitzes, events, and so much more!

He emphasizes that you don’t have to say yes to every opportunity; it’s flexible, and you can shape the experience into what you want it to be and what works for you. At the end of the day, if you have the time, care about the outdoors, and want to give back to something that truly matters in this province, Barry encourages you to join volunteers like himself in making a difference for conservation year-round, whether that be snowshoeing out in winter, hiking in fall, or paddling in summer. All explorers are welcome.

Thank you to Barry for his dedication and commitment as a volunteer! Learn more about our volunteer opportunities.