Larry Bogan has been an avid naturalist for over 50 years, having worked with Nature Nova Scotia, the Blomidon Naturalists, the Sierra Club, and the Breeding Bird Atlasing program. “We must “preserve space for the rest of the species that we share the Earth with.”

Larry is one of the Nature Trust’s earliest supporters, as he became involved with us in 1999 as a volunteer Property Guardian. For 23 years, Larry has been a Property Guardian for several conservation sites in the Annapolis Valley. He has hiked, biked, walked, monitored, trimmed, reported (and more) on conservation lands, providing vital data and observations about the landscapes and nature on these properties. He’s become a true caretaker of these special places and it’s likely he knows more about these properties than anyone else!

There is much one can learn when volunteering as a Property Guardian for such a long time. Sometimes the properties are relatively easy to access and monitor, with established trails or cart roads, but some locations are not for the faint of heart and require more physicality and a commitment to getting dirty. Thankfully, Larry can now also share his wealth of experience as a mentor and role model for new Property Guardians.

Larry’s generosity doesn’t stop with his gift of time and commitment as a volunteer. He became a major donor for the organization early on and more recently has become a “Champion of the Wild“, a special group of donors who have made generous multi-year financial commitments.

With his deep concern for nature, Larry monitors properties for both the Nova Scotia Nature Trust and the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and he also participates in periodic citizen science activities. He and his wife, Alison, offer sanctuary for the iconic monarch butterflies on a five-acre plot of their property where milkweed grows and where hundreds of them have thrived each year. Their 80 acres in the Annapolis Valley has been “allowed to grow unmanaged” with birches, poplars and wild flowers since they bought it in 1976.

Larry is passionate about protecting our natural world, and he’s an advocate for education about conservation to preserve the planet, and to ensure its health and welfare.

“The very basis of the Nature Trust’s mission is to protect Nova Scotia’s natural legacy. By educating and supporting property owners to conserve their own land is essential to preserving our natural history”, says Larry. “Changing the priority of the general population from constant fiscal growth to safeguarding the earth as our home is critical, and more understanding of nature’s role in the earth’s long-term health is needed.”

A sincere thank-you to Larry for his long-term contribution to the Nature Trust, for demonstrating his commitment as a Champion of the Wild, and for helping save and protect nature in Nova Scotia.

Learn more about being a Property Guardian.