Keith Macdonald has been volunteering with the Nature Trust since 2014. With a love of plants instilled in him by his mother, Keith learned early “to see the big picture while looking at the minutiae”. A retired financial analyst, Keith now shares that love of nature with his four young grandchildren.

He, like so many of our volunteers, is self-taught in botany and relies on guides like the Flora of Nova Scotia, combined with great enthusiasm, to learn more about our province’s plant communities. It was an internet search about Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora that brought Keith to the Nature Trust’s website in 2014 and spurred him to get involved.

Keith has been a Property Guardian for our Hemeon’s Head conservation lands for the last five years and has participated in our Rugosa Rose removal project, restoring habitat along the beach for the endangered Piping Plover. Keith makes visits twice a year to keep the invasive rose from regrowing along the dunes, securing tarps over the project area in the spring and removing them again in the fall. During his visits, he also conducts the annual monitoring and this past year was key in helping to alert recreational users to the presence of a nesting pair of Piping Plovers and diverting traffic away from the nest site.

This past year, Keith and his wife, Patrice d’Entremont, have been visiting the newly protected Blue Mountain Wilderness Connector. Whenever the Nature Trust secures a new property, we conduct a baseline study of the property and take note of all of the various features on the project at the time of securement. Keith and Patrice have been very helpful at locating trails on the property, as well as other features (either natural or manmade). Keith has been growing his GPS skills throughout his time exploring the Wilderness Connector and has provided valuable files to help with our baseline report.

Keith says of his experience: “It has been a great joy for both of us, participating in various NSNT initiatives, meeting and working with like-minded people, making a connection with some very special wilderness areas here in Nova Scotia.”

Please join us in thanking Keith and Patrice for their awesome efforts protecting Nova Scotia’s most special places! We’re lucky to have you on the team!