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There are five eligible activities under Nova Scotia’s Agricultural Biodiversity Program:
- Wetland Restoration
- Farm Pond Construction
- Beaver Pond Management
- Flushing Bars
- Invasive Species Control (Purple Loosestrife)
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Wetland Restoration 
Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) is working with land owners to restore wildlife habitat on small wetlands located in farming communities throughout the Maritimes.
In recent years, DUC has experimented and developed unique and beneficial techniques to put wetlands back on farms. One main technique makes use of an excavator to scoop vegetation and organic soil out of densely vegetated wetlands so shallow open water ponds can be created. Some of the soil and vegetation is placed adjacent to the wetland, while some of this material is used to create islands for wildlife to rest on.
Ideal sites are typically one to five acres in size. Normally, these sites are not connected to streams, but have high soil moisture because they are located down slope, receiving snow melt and runoff from lands after rainfall. These areas may have once been productive wetlands, but have since been ditched, drained or filled in.
The benefits of this program are numerous. By restoring small wetlands on the agricultural landscape, DUC is helping to improve the biodiversity and wildlife habitat on Nova Scotia farms. A recent research study compared the wildlife species using managed wetlands to wildlife using unmanaged wetlands. The study found that more breeding pairs and broods of waterfowl used managed small wetlands than unmanaged wetlands. Also reported was that leopard frogs and green frogs were also present in larger numbers of managed sites.
Farm pond construction is one of the eligible activities under the Agricultural Biodiversity Program offered through the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.
Wetland restoration is an eligible activity under the Agricultural Biodiversity Program offered through the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. This program provides NS farmers with access to technical and financial assistance for projects that will improve biodiversity and wildlife habitat on their farms.
