June 20, 2008
SaskEnergy employees, W. F. Ready Elementary School students and community volunteers
joined the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) to help clean-up and protect
newly acquired conservation land located in the Qu’Appelle Valley today.
SaskEnergy is making a four year, $132,000 commitment to help Nature
Conservancy establish a corridor of conservation land through the Qu’Appelle
Valley. The corridor will protect native habitat and species at risk.
“SaskEnergy is committed to protecting prairie landscape to benefit the
environment and create environmental learning opportunities for youth,” says
Leslie Gosselin, SaskEnergy’s Advertising and Community Relations Manager.
“Having students participate today by installing Mountain Bluebird boxes is an
excellent opportunity to promote environmental protection to future leaders.”
The Valeport property is located at the south end of Last Mountain Lake,
adjacent to the Valeport Wildlife Management Unit where large numbers of ducks,
geese, swans, pelicans and gulls can be found in large numbers when migrating
in both spring and fall. Formerly grazing land, this vibrant and productive
property has numerous species of migratory and resident birds, mammals and
insects. The land is home to several species at risk, including the Northern
Leopard Frog, Loggerhead Shrike and Sprague’s Pipit. The Western Meadowlark,
Vesper Sparrow, Red-tailed Hawk, Mourning Dove, Tree Swallow, Yellow Warbler
and Baltimore Oriole can also be found on the site.
The Conservation Volunteers event, hosted by NCC, was an opportunity
for SaskEnergy employees and other volunteers to perform critical restoration
work to return the property to its natural state. In addition to enhancing
habitat on-site, volunteers enjoyed learning about the property’s rich wildlife
and native plants during a nature walk with NCC staff.
“This is the first conservation volunteer event held in the Upper Qu’Appelle,” says
Jennipher Karst, NCC’s Conservation Volunteer Coordinator. “We’re excited to
share the importance of this property with the local community while accomplishing
critical restoration work.”
NCC’s Conservation Volunteers program engages people in the protection of
Canada’s biodiversity while providing a meaningful, hands-on educational experience in
ecologically significant natural areas. Carefully designed projects ensure that
volunteers’ time is dedicated to critical conservation action. The Nature
Conservancy of Canada gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), the lead sponsor of the Conservation Volunteers
program.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada is a non-profit, non-confrontational organization
that takes a business-like approach to land conservation and the protection of biological
diversity. Its plan of action involves partnership-building and entering into creative
conservation solutions with any individual, corporation, community group, conservation
organization or government body that shares its passion. Since 1962, NCC and its supporters
have protected more than 2 million acres of ecologically significant land nationwide.
For more information, contact:
Jennipher Karst
Conservation Volunteers Coordinator
NCC Saskatchewan Region
Phone: 1-888-622-7275
Jennipher.Karst@natureconservancy.ca
Leanna Korevaar
Communications Officer
SaskEnergy
Phone: 306-777-9724 or 306-535-6368
lkorevaar@saskenergy.ca