Building bridges between wetland conservation and agriculture in Alberta

 Working with Ducks Unlimited Canada to bridge the divide 

At multiple points in Pattison-Williams’ career, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) has supported his work in bringing together the perspectives of environmental research, food security, and the fundamental economics of agriculture. “It goes back to my graduate degree,” he says. “My program at the University of Alberta was on wetland valuation, and Ducks Unlimited funded part of that research. I remember at 23, driving out to Oak Hammock Marsh near Winnipeg to meet some of those folks there to just sort of talk and hear what they were doing. Since then, I’ve done consulting work for Ducks on and off over the last ten years.” 

Pattison-Williams  and his wife have partnered on key DUC  initiatives like the Forage Program. Given Pattison-Williams’ history of working with the organization, DUC didn’t hesitate to reach out to to him to collaborate on an entirely new project.  

This time, it was to shoot a promotional video on Pattison-Williams’ farm for the new Landowner Guide to the Alberta Wetland Policy. As a participating landowner, he saw this as an opportunity to once again connect farmers to the benefits and possibilities of wetland conservation – an opportunity that he and his family weren’t going to pass up. 

“We had a few Ducks Unlimited staff come over to the house for breakfast, and then we went out and took some shots in the wetlands. And we didn’t have to act or pretend for the video,” laughs Pattison-Williams. “Not only have we maintained wetlands that already exist on the property, we’ve also done some mini-restoration of historical wetlands that had been drained sometime around the 1930s. This is putting much of my graduate research into practice, and we really want farmers to engage with the new policy so that they can see the same positive results.” 

Collaborating on the video also felt like a way to give back, he notes. “We believe in the work that Ducks Unlimited is doing to preserve wetlands, and we believe that communication efforts like these help bridge the gap between viewpoints—even between economic and environmental interests—to see the common ground where we all win.”  

“A place of hospitality, openness and learning” 

Whether it’s on the land, through Pattison-Williams’ consultancy, or through the relationships with his neighbours and friends, the guiding question is always the same: how can we all come together? 

Pattison-Williams and his family have made their home quarter section into a place where all stakeholders can see what a restored wetland looks like. With guests ranging from the Auditor General of Alberta to graduate students from the U of A, their efforts are making an impact well beyond the land itself. 

 “We want our farm to be a place of hospitality, openness and learning,” says Pattison-Williams. “Our dream would be to make this a sort of field study site where we collaborate with research and education programs, and people can come and we can talk about all aspects of food safety and environmental integrity. It would be a great way to blend the expertise of my wife and myself, while bringing students out to farms, and farmers into the universities.” 

But first, he says, “we just got our house built, our solar panels up and we’re raising two young boys, so that’s going to take up some time.” 

85 Years of Conservation: Unlimited Together 2023

As DUC celebrates our 85th anniversary, we want to recognize the efforts and work of incredible partners and landowners like John and his family. These collaborations have helped bring us to this point, and we are so grateful.