The Bras d’Or is world-renowned as a sailing paradise – and for Louise Cook, it called out to her to unexpectedly set anchor and make a new home in Nova Scotia.

Louise calls the outdoors her “lifeblood.” “As far back as I can remember,” she says, “I’d be outdoors regardless of the weather. It’s what keeps me going.” She began sailing as a young teenager; growing up in the United Kingdom, sailing was a sport available to her at school. She also got involved with the Ocean Youth Club, a charity that took kids out sailing on larger boats; she sailed across the English Channel with the group several times.

In 1996, Louise and her husband set themselves up to sail around the world. They made their boat ready, completed their certifications, gave up their jobs, and set out on an offshore life. They lived on their boat for four and a half years, spending time in the Mediterranean and making their way to Gibraltar, then to Madeira, Cape Verde, Brazil, French Guyana, and up the Caribbean.

“It was a bit crazy, really,” says Louise of how Nova Scotia ended up on their itinerary. After making their way from Grenada to Florida to meet up with Louise’s sister and brother-in-law, they decided to sail up the Atlantic coast of the United States. “When we were in Norfolk, Virginia, we met a couple of Canadians from Toronto, and they said that they were going to sail to the Bras d’Or the next year and invited us to go with them, and we did.”

Once they arrived in the Bras d’Or in 2002, they found it impossible not to get stuck. “It was just absolutely beautiful,” remembers Louise. “It was a rainy day. We hired a car, and for some reason we decided to look at land that was for sale, and we went mad and decided to buy a lot in the North Mountain area.” Louise was struck by the contrast with the United Kingdom, where it’s “just impossible” to have land with its own mooring. And buying the land itself was just the start. “We decided to build a shack to store stuff for the boat, and then we decided we may as well have a garage, and then once you have a garage you may as well have a house, and there you are,” she says. “Our plans originally were to sail around the world, but we ended up in Nova Scotia and got stuck here!”

While the boat that brought them to Nova Scotia was too big for life on the Bras d’Or, there was plenty of canoeing and paddleboarding to keep Louise busy – not to mention hiking near her new home. She sought opportunities to learn about the natural features of the North Mountain area, including learning birding by ear, joining the Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society, and participating in public hikes up into the North Mountain conservation lands. Through those hikes, she connected with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and became a property steward for one of the properties they protect in the area. And when she learned that the Nature Trust had acquired properties adjacent to land she was already stewarding, she jumped in to volunteer as a Property Guardian as well.

She continues to steward and monitor properties for both the Nature Trust and NCC, a wonderful extension of the collaborative conservation that goes into protecting the whole region. And it’s also very convenient for Louise. “They’re literally on my doorstep,” she explains. “Quite a few of [the properties] are close together, so in the winter I can snowshoe to them from home.” She also clarifies that while they are close by, the terrain is challenging; the Nature Trust properties in particular focus on connecting the shoreline of the Bras d’Or to the ridge and plateaus at the top of the mountain. “The first part is quite a steep slope, and most of the time it’s just bushwhacking, but you know – that keeps me fit.”

She also appreciates the opportunity for ongoing learning. In addition to refining her skills in identifying birdsong and wildflowers, she recently attended a lichen identification training hosted by the Nature Trust on one of the properties she monitors in Lime Hill. And she reports that only a few weeks later, she put her training into action: “I was out putting up some signage and I came across a Blue Felt Lichen! When you see it live out in the field, it’s a better way to learn than in a classroom, really – I’m definitely somebody who needs to be out there learning, rather than trying to learn it from a book.” She adds that the learning curve is just part of the Property Guardian job. At first, she says, “you think, ‘where do I start?’ But you pick it up over time. Just go out there and be open for learning on the ground and don’t be put off.”

“It’s a wonderful privilege to have places nearby where you can just hike through them in any season,” Louise says. “It’s lovely doing the volunteer part, you’re helping to preserve nature for future generations but it also works both ways – it gives me such enjoyment as well. And it’s wonderful watching the properties as they change through the seasons.”

“In a very small way, what I’m doing will hopefully help future generations to enjoy these properties,” Louise says. “That’s the big thing, really. It’s a win-win situation.”