It all started with a summer vacation almost 40 years ago. Sheridan (Sherry) and Ed Bartlett were invited to make a trip from their home in Vermont to visit their friend Heidi Watts on a small island in “the LaHaves”, a collection of islands off Nova Scotia’s south shore. That first trip to Nova Scotia was the beginning of a lifetime of summer visits, and a love for these coastal islands.

Heidi Watts’s family had a long history in the LaHave Islands, having purchased their house on Middle Island in the 1960s when it was not far from collapse. For 15 years, Ed and Sherry, along with their children, stayed at Heidi’s house for a few weeks each summer. They then decided to purchase Round Island nearby and built a small boathouse and a tent platform there, with the help of some of Heidi’s other visitors. This was a quiet island beloved by locals, who still use it for clamming and berry picking.

A year later, they purchased a house on nearby Wolfe Island, providing the Bartletts with more space to entertain visiting family and friends. “This made it possible for us to stay for the whole summer,” says Sherry, “and to continue Heidi’s tradition of welcoming friends who love the beauty of these islands, and don’t mind the inconveniences.”

Sherry, now an editor for the journal, Environment and Urbanization, worked on and off for years in Asia and Africa, doing research on children’s lives in places as varied as Zanzibar and the Hindu Kush mountains. Once their own children were older, she and Ed lived in Nepal for eight years, where he continued his work as a psychiatrist, and she kept up with her research. But they returned to Nova Scotia each summer with the family, and as the family grew, so did their fondness for this small archipelago of largely undeveloped islands. “It’s an incredibly exquisite place,” says Sherry. “For all our travels, we’ve seen nothing more beautiful.”

The Bartletts eventually moved their home base to New York city where they reside today, but summers on the islands continue to be an important part of life for their family. Over time they have become increasingly concerned about protecting this special place from mounting development pressures. Several years ago, they purchased Knob Island just near Wolfe, wanting to ensure that, like Round, it remained a place for everyone to enjoy, whether for picking wild blueberries, clamming, or stopping off in a kayak.

“The purpose was always ultimately to conserve them”, says Sherry, “so we were delighted when our daughter-in law, Hillary Caldwell, discovered the Nature Trust.” Hillary had enjoyed many summers on Wolfe Island and the neighboring area, and she too wanted to see Round and Knob Islands protected for generations to come.

After contacting the Nature Trust about conservation options, the Bartletts learned about the financial incentives that are available through the Ecological Gifts Program. “We found we’d be able to look forward to some relief from capital gains when we pass the Wolfe Island property on to our children, and this was a tremendous boost in our decision to donate.”

Protecting Knob and Round Islands will now forever provide an additional 9.3 acres of important connectivity for seabirds and wildlife in an area which is increasingly fragmented and developed and will help ensure that the island ecosystems here remain undisturbed.

The islands’ coastlines consist of exposed bedrock, with pockets of salt marsh along Knob Island, and a small sand beach on Round. They support a mixture of coastal forests, regenerating thickets, and meadows.

“It’s so nice to look out on both islands and know that they’re safe for the next generations to enjoy,” says Sherry. Both Hillary and their daughter are currently pregnant, so still more family members will continue to take pleasure in these islands, along with many residents and visitors.

We are so thankful for the incredible generosity of Sherry, Ed, Hillary and the rest of the family for their wonderful gift. For more information about ECCC’s Ecological Gifts Program for property donations to the Nature Trust, contact our Landowner Outreach Lead at Keith@nsnt.ca.

This project was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada through the federal Department of Environment and Climate Change.

Additional securement funding was provided by the Nova Scotia Crown Share Land Legacy Trust.