Chatsworth, ON – The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) hosted its eighth Conservation Volunteers event of the season this past Saturday. Volunteers endured heavy rains to help remove 6 bags of non-native Periwinkle from the forest floor at the Galbraith Natural Area near Chatsworth. Periwinkle invades natural areas such as forests and displaces native species.
“Volunteers are instrumental in helping us complete our day-to-day management work,” noted John Gerrath, NCC’s Midwestern Ontario Science and Stewardship Coordinator. “These events also help people to see how something as seemingly harmless as dumping garden waste in a natural area can have negative impacts on native species and biodiversity.”
The Cinnamon Bog property at Galbraith Natural Area provides habitat for an amazing diversity of forest birds, flowers and ferns including Hart’s Tongue Fern, Cinnamon Fern and Stemless Lady Slipper. The endangered Butternut is also present in this area. Volunteers finished the day with a guided tour of the Galbraith Natural Area, seeing and learning about the native plants and animals their efforts helped to protect.
The benefits of environmental volunteering for participants has been well-documented including improved mental well-being and physical health, and increased connectedness to nature. It also has the ability to empower individuals to make environmentally beneficial changes in their day-to-day lives.
NCC’s Conservation Volunteers program engages people in the protection of Canada’s biodiversity while providing a meaningful, hands-on educational experience in ecologically significant natural areas. Carefully designed projects ensure that volunteers’ time is dedicated to critical conservation action. To find out more about how to become involved with NCC’s volunteer events, please visit the Conservation Volunteers website at www.conservationvolunteers.ca.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is Canada’s leading land conservation organization. Since 1962, NCC has helped to protect more than 2 million acres (800,000 hectares) of ecologically significant land nationwide.
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Photo caption: Conservation Volunteers stand behind a patch of forest cleared of invasive Periwinkle (photo by NCC)
Contact:
John Gerrath
Midwestern Ontario Science and Stewardship Coordinator
1-877-343-3532 ext. 230
john.gerrath@natureconservancy.ca
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