Crunching through the snow this past March, Mark Brennan spotted an oval impression in the snow, then another one, counting each one among the hemlock grove. He found sixteen in total, evidence that deer had not only been here but also had curled up for the night as their overwintering spot. Mark snapped a photo as part of monitoring the property to share in his report to our Stewardship team. “The Nature Trust had not previously known that it was an overwintering habitat for white-tailed deer,” Mark shares about the recent encounter. It’s a wonderful example of the vital function volunteers like him serve with their routine monitoring of Nature Trust properties.

Mark Brennan is a Canadian artist who works primarily as a landscape painter and photographer, and is one of our Wilderness Property Guardians and a dedicated Bird’s Eye View volunteer. Recently, he generously contributed a few of his immersive soundscapes to support the launch of In Our Nature: The Hidden Wild, our new virtual tours platform. His commitment to conservation can be traced back to early involvement in wilderness protected areas in Nova Scotia in the 1990s. Paddling by canoe, with canvas and paintbrushes, he captured the wild landscapes in hopes of protecting these places. Swept up in the meetings, schools, and active campaigning for years, Mark ultimately decided to take a step back to recover from burnout. With retirement approaching, he started thinking about how he could give back and get back to doing important work of supporting conservation in the province. This led him to join the Nature Trust three years ago and begin his volunteer journey as a Wilderness Property Guardian.

“I believe that protection of nature is absolutely critical right now. The more we can protect, the better…We are addicted to fossil fuels as humans. It’s having a very detrimental effect on ourselves, the climate, ecosystems, and endangered species. And I think that right now we’re at a very critical time. But the work by conservation groups like the Nova Scotia Nature Trust is vital, that’s why it’s important for me to volunteer.”

When venturing out as a Wilderness Property Guardian or as a Bird’s Eye View volunteer versus when he goes out to paint or photograph nature, Mark finds that his mind scans for different things, with the focus on data to survey, and to seek out species. When he became a birdwatcher a few years ago, not only did he notice birds more, but he also honed in on their calls, movements, and colours. If he is walking through the woods and hears a chickadee, “You can not pay attention to that. Oh, there’s a chickadee, oh, there’s an American Redstart.”

The natural world came into sharper focus as he took note of changes, observations, and species on the property for monitoring for the Nature Trust.

The first time Mark went to monitor the property at Barren Brook, on the St. Mary’s River, it was a sunny day, though there had been a heavy dew. Trekking into the property using his GPS as his guide through the brush, he started to get wetter and wetter and wetter; by the time he was halfway into the property, he was completely soaked. He ended up having to wade through the water till he made it to more solid ground. On that day, he noted that he spotted 40 species of birds, many different flower species, and butterflies throughout his trek. “I enjoyed the adventure…that’s where I want to be in my life. Like, that’s it for me. Like, it doesn’t get any better, you know, really, unless I’m spending time with close family or friends.”

Mark feels that the very nature of the things that sustain us and the things that give us richness in life deeply benefit his physical and mental health. “When I go into these places, I feel whole and complete. It’s an experience that has no other measure for me. I can’t measure against anybody else. For me, it’s where I feel at home – when I’m walking through a Nature Trust property or a wilderness area.”

Mark attributes feeling part of nature to his upbringing in Scotland. In the company of other 12- and 13-year-olds, they had the freedom to roam the rolling landscape of the Scottish Highlands. They wandered off on adventures of their own making, be it hiking or following a riverbed for miles. The natural world unfolded before them, willing them to explore it. When he came to Canada for the first time in his 20s, his explorations became more exact, and he was able to go further than he had ever before as an adult, challenging his limits in the outdoors with multi-canoe trips and hiking the entire loop of Gros Morne National Park. Now approaching 60, Mark reflects on how his relationship to nature has evolved as he prepares for this next chapter in his life with retirement. He has come to appreciate the divine richness and peace that nature brings to his life.

In the end, that connection, to land, to water, to something larger than ourselves, is what makes this work matter. “It’s just a tree, or it’s just water. So the thing about that is, without that connection to the landscapes, nobody’s gonna care, unless you have that physical bond.” Mark notes the physical changes in the properties he visits and monitors as recovering landscapes, through his observations like remnant species of trees and other plants, especially with oak growing bigger along the St. Mary’s River. He feels not that he is accomplishing something, but being a part of that recovery by helping to monitor its progress, though Mark recognizes that in human terms, it takes a lifetime, which in geological terms is nothing. He takes comfort that as a Nature Trust volunteer, he is taking action that will make a difference over a long period of time, the very time that these wild places need to flourish.

“You feel like you’re a part of watching that landscape recover into something that it should be.”

That is a major part of Mark’s reason for doing this work with the Nature Trust as a Wilderness Property Guardian. Sharing that he is always hopeful, despite recognizing that it’s hard to be a nature lover in today’s world, he encourages everyone to work a little bit towards preservation and conservation because together we can all get a lot done. Whether it be volunteering, personal actions in your own life, deepening your bond with nature, or getting more involved in your community, there is a place for everyone in nature.

Thank you to Mark Brennan for his volunteer service in remote and hard-to-reach places for stewardship. To learn more about our Wilderness Property Guardians program, visit our Wilderness Property Guardians page.