Seasons greetings friends!
It’s hard to believe we’re wrapping up another calendar year of programming at TLC. This year has been packed full of education and restoration events; covenant monitoring, enforcement, and creation; and land management and stewardship activities. Our partners, volunteers, and supporters have made every kilometer we’ve traversed in our stewardship activities possible: whether hiking along eskers in the Clearwater River Valley, reviewing restoration plans in the Okanagan, or monitoring the shores off Tofino, each square meter of the 15,000 acres we protect is made possible by your contributions! This morning, I’m pleased to share some of our highlights from 2024 as well as what we’re looking forward to in 2025.
TLC’s 2024 Passport to Nature included 13 events for participants to learn about species identification, restoration strategies, and ecosystem services. Hundreds participated to help restore protected areas as well as gain knowledge and skills they could take away to implement on their own. Highlights included visiting the protective covenant area at Ayum Creek Regional Park Reserve to tackle invasive periwinkle; learning more about rainwater management from TLC’s own Sherry Beauvais; and finding 78 species of fungi with guides, naturalists, ecologists, and fun-guys Andy MacKinnon and Kem Luther at TLC’s Millstream Creek Watershed property in November.
TLC’s Deertrails Naturalist Program returned to the Upper Clearwater Valley, an area renowned for its volcanic history and vibrant ecologies, to offer participants more than 30 hours of time with our expert naturalist instructors in May. Throughout the week-long workshop, participants had the opportunity to explore local flora and wildlife within TLC’s 141 acres of protected wetlands, forests, and wildlife corridors, as well as neighbouring Wells Gray Provincial Park. Naturalist-led hikes followed forest trails in the paths of the elders, attended to waterfalls and precipitous canyons, listened for the early-morning songs of migrating songbirds, and generally immersed participants in an ecosystem awakening to spring.
Our intrepid conservation covenant team was found throughout the province as they fulfilled TLC’s responsibilities to monitor these critical habitats. Noteworthy moments for all of our team were spotting rare species while out in the field. The team was thrilled to have spotted a yearling cinnamon bear climbing up a tree at TLC’s Okanagan River Oxbow covenant in Oliver. Cinnamon bears (Ursus americanus cinnamomum) are a subspecies of North American black bear, whose fur appears brown to red-brown colour due to a mutation in select genes responsible for hair pigmentation.
Our team is also working on a number of new conservation covenants to be registered on privately held lands to protect the important ecosystems found within for generations to come. We’ll be sharing some exciting news on this front in the new year – stay tuned!
Management of the conservation lands TLC holds title to – covering more than 2,700 acres throughout the province – continues to rely on our many hardworking and dedicated volunteers. At the Alston-Stewart Estate in the Blenkinsop Valley we paired up with the Greater Victoria Green Team for the second consecutive year to remove invasive English ivy (Hedera helix), English holly (Ilex aquifolium), and Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus armeniacus) this fall. Over the course of two events, 71 volunteers donated a combined 228 hours and managed to clear 630 square metres (around one sixth of an acre) of forest floor, removing a volume of invasives equivalent to 140 bathtubs (22.3 cubic metres)!
In mid-December I joined volunteers at Abkhazi Garden as they prepared for the annual festive market to help raise funds to support the ongoing maintenance of the garden. From our 60 dedicated volunteers to our visitors from around the world, Abkhazi Garden is beloved by the thousands who enjoy the site each year. Artists, horticulturalists, historians, photographers, musicians, school groups, and families all find something special within our unique heritage garden. In addition to festive sales and enjoying winter-blooming species, this time of year is spent planning for next year’s programming and upcoming maintenance projects.
To continue to ensure that the garden is a destination we can all appreciate, a new mobility-friendly walkway has been designed to make our entryway more accessible. While the walkway will still be drivable and is being designed with materials that will allow emergency vehicles to access our heritage teahouse, it will also be permeable, accessible, walkable, and bikeable. We are aiming to raise $39,000 by the end of December to transform the uneven driveway early in the new year.
If you are interested in learning more about our operations this year, I encourage you to review our Spring and Fall 2024 LANDmark newsletters, Annual Report, and Giving Tuesday update. These annual publications offer a more insight into the hard work our volunteers and staff have accomplished, as well as ways you can get involved. In addition, TLC’s new Strategic Plan showcases the eight programming areas we intend to focus our efforts to refine our operations over the next five years. Goals relating to reconciliation, education, communication, fundraising, technology, partnerships, conservation covenants, and human resources recognize the lands of vital importance that we are entrusted with as well as the many partners we collaborate with to achieve successful stewardship.
As a land trust supporter, you can help us achieve our conservation goals.
If you are still planning to make a gift in support of B.C.’s incredible biodiversity this year, please consider making your gift to TLC online or by mailing a donation to the address below. Donations made online or postmarked by December 31 are eligible for 2024 tax receipts. If you have already made your year-end gift, thank you for your generous support!
Friends, on behalf of TLC’s Board, staff, and volunteers, thank you for your support this year. Protecting and stewarding more than 15,000 acres throughout the province requires a network of conservation-minded champions. Together, we will continue to make a difference in protecting B.C.’s most precious biodiversity for generations to come.
Wishing you a happy and healthy new year!
Sincerely,
Dianna Stenberg
Executive Director
