DUC and COVID-19

To our conservation community

Extraordinary people in extraordinary times. This is what we’re witnessing within our nation-wide conservation community as DUC navigates the unprecedented situation surrounding COVID-19. While the future is uncertain, your support is making a world of difference.

When the time came to postpone our fundraising events, many of you chose to forego a ticket refund and are instead looking forward to re-scheduling the fun.

Our volunteers and sponsors have responded with compassion and understanding, using this time to brainstorm new ways of rallying their communities when we can all be together again.

Generous donors have graciously made new gifts.

Longtime members have picked up the phone to check in with our staff who are now working from home.

And online, when we open our computers and smartphones, DUC’s gaggle of social media followers greet us with creative messages and photos that lift our spirits.

We are grateful. We are proud. We are both humbled and heartened by the ways people like you are coming together for conservation during a time that demands we be apart. You are a reminder of the unbreakable bond between people and nature.

For some inspiring thoughts about how we see nature during this time of change, we encourage you to read this message from CEO Karla Guyn.

Taking care of our community

DUC continues to follow the situation surrounding COVID-19 closely. Here are a few of the ways we are doing our part to take care of our nation-wide conservation community:

• We have developed an Incident Response Team that is closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation and following the guidance and best practices from the Public Health Agency of Canada.

• For our employees, we’ve created an online communications forum to keep everyone connected. It is updated regularly with measures that employees can take to protect their health, as well as the health of others. This includes general prevention measures, personal workspace hygiene, enhanced infection control protocols for offices and social distancing techniques. We’ve created opportunities for staff to work from home and provided them with technology solutions they need to work remotely, while maintaining a team atmosphere. We have requested that employees refrain from all air travel and have established quarantine protocols following personal travel.

• As COVID-19 restrictions begin to lift across the country, DUC is taking extreme care and caution while following guidelines set by national and provincial health agencies. The safety and well-being of our supporters remains of utmost importance. We’re currently focusing our attention on generating revenue through new online and peer-to-peer fundraising initiatives.

Rest assured, we will continue to adapt to the current uncertainty by monitoring developments and adapting accordingly. Where we can, we will continue our work to conserve, restore and manage Canada’s wetlands, and look forward to resuming any delayed activities with our fellow conservationists when the time is right.

While the world around us is uncertain, we can take comfort in the fact that we have a strong staff team and a dedicated community of volunteers and supporters. To remain engaged with us consider following our social channels, download the My DUC™ app or sign up for our eDUC newsletter. You can also connect with us by phone at 1-800-665-DUCK (3825) or email supporter@ducks.ca