The conservation long game

Cultivating biodiversity at Snake Woods

The people who work with DUC to restore habitat on their land often take steps to enhance and enjoy the natural environment. But some bring a higher level of commitment, the kind that can turn a former working farm in Oxford County, Ont. into a dream property teeming with biodiversity.

Scott Gillingwater and Teresa Piraino searched for 10 years to find the right property to rehabilitate for wildlife. With careful planning and boundless enthusiasm, the couple established the habitats needed for biodiversity recovery at Snake Woods. They removed invasive species and restored wetland and grassland habitat, working with DUC and local conservation partners. They’ve also installed bird nesting boxes, bat boxes, a snake hibernaculum, and hundreds of native plantings.

“Creating a diversity of habitats was a key goal from the beginning,” says Gillingwater. “To date, we’ve documented 1,600 wildlife species on the property. Many mammals use the wetland, especially during the summer. Many species of dragonfly and damselfly use the wetland for breeding and hunting. Resident birds are found throughout the warmer season and migrants stop in on a regular basis. This has been a dream come true for us, and we share our experiences and successes so that others can see the benefits of living with nature.”

Recently, Gillingwater and Piraino received the 2022 Oxford Stewardship Award for their efforts. And they’re still adding to the list of wildlife, including species at risk, that they observe during their walks at Snake Woods.

Good news thrives at the Mang Project

A passionate birder is a gift to science. For 10 years, Jared Clarke and Kristen Martin have tracked songbird diversity at DUC’s restored Mang Project and their neighbouring land. They head out on summer mornings to their banding station near Regina, Sask. Their disciplined data collection was rewarded when they were able to establish the Saw-whet Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship Station with the Institute for Bird Populations, which provides the rigorous protocol required to observe, band and record songbirds for the program. They’ve recorded nearly 100 bird species at their station.

“This past July, we caught a male yellow warbler that we first banded in 2016,” says Clarke. “He is at least seven years old and is the third yellow warbler male we’ve caught six years after being banded.”

Capturing and recording previously banded birds has revealed to the couple how often birds return to the same habitat for breeding, and points to why every acre of habitat lost depletes biodiversity. And every acre of habitat protected restores it.

30 by 30: A nature challenge on an epic scale

Last year, Canada was central in the adoption of global commitments to nature that took place at the Conference of the Parties in Montréal at the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15, Part 2). DUC sent a team of experts to join the delegation supporting the federal government at the summit.

Along with 200 other countries, Canada pledged to conserve 30 per cent of lands and water by 2030. This target was adopted by ratifying the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework, an international strategy to reverse biodiversity decline. Canada’s ambitious pledge demands steep investments in nature. DUC is ready to step up our role in biodiversity conservation — naturally.

Illustration: Great Plains toad © Ruth Ann Pearce

What is biodiversity exactly?

Biodiversity is the collection of life that makes up our natural world. This includes the variety of plants, animals, fungi and micro-organisms that work together to create healthy, balanced ecosystems that sustain life.

Biodiversity is important because it supports everything in nature that we need to survive and has a direct impact on our health and well-being. It provides food, fresh water, shelter, energy and medicine. Biodiversity also supports business and recreational activities that contribute to the economy.