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Kerry Coleman – Volunteering with DUC – Raised on the Conservation Ethic
Oak Hammock Marsh, Man., April 12, 2010 — Kerry Coleman was born in 1956 – the same year a Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) wetland project was started on the farm his parents would purchase in 1961 and where he would be raised. The retired Crystal City, Manitoba butcher is grateful that DUC and its conservation ethic have always been a part of his life and credits his parents and the community where he grew up. Today, he raises his children with the same DUC ethic in mind.
Kerry, a clay-shooting instructor for 30 years, has been attending DUC banquets for as long as he can remember. A few years ago he became actively involved in the Youth Mentoring Hunting Program in the Crystal City area where he mentors youth, aged 13 to 16, as part of a program that teaches hunting and outdoor skills, food preparation and includes volunteering at the annual local DUC dinner. Since taking on the role of chair for the DUC committee in 2008, Kerry has also recruited his wife, two daughters and son-in-law to support DUC.
“I have always been interested in the outdoors and giving back to the community is very important to me,” says Kerry. “One of my favourite things about being a DUC volunteer is the satisfaction felt after a job well done, everyone had a good time and money was made for wetland conservation.”
Kerry has learned a great deal about the science of conservation since being a DUC volunteer. He is fascinated with the technical side of water conservation, such as carbon storage and filtration, which is something he did not know much about before joining the committee. He is grateful for this knowledge because it helps him explain to prospective volunteers and supporters that DUC is about more than ducks. For example, Kerry is now well aware of the role DUC experts play in informing government agencies about wetland and water policy issues that in turn help those agencies formulate provincial and national wetland policies and regulations.
“Kerry knows the crucial role that wetlands play in our ecosystem,” says Tyler Shiels, DUC’s fundraising manager in Manitoba. “Because he believes in the work we do, he always has time for DUC. He attends six or seven events every year either as a guest or a volunteer and is always willing to lend a helping hand whenever we need him.”
“National Volunteer Week, April 18-24, is our opportunity to celebrate DUC’s team of 7,400 dedicated volunteers like Kerry,” says Loraine Nyokong, DUC director of event and retail fundraising. “DUC volunteers are continually giving freely of themselves to organize fundraising events across Canada for the benefit of wetland conservation. They are the driving force behind our success.”
“I’m a people person,” says Kerry. “Volunteering with DUC is a great way for me to get back out into the community to see old friends and customers, and also to meet new people.”
Funds raised by volunteers like Kerry directly support DUC’s Wetlands for Tomorrow campaign – the largest conservation fundraising campaign in the history of North America. It spans three countries as DUC works alongside Ducks Unlimited, Inc. in the United States and Ducks Unlimited Mexico to conserve wetlands for waterfowl, other wildlife and people.
For more information, contact:
Ashley Lewis, a_lewis@ducks.ca
Communications Coordinator, Fundraising
Ducks Unlimited Canada
Phone: 204-467-3252
