Toronto, March 28, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Highway animal crossings in Alberta, bee corridors in British Columbia, an urban lot transformation in Hamilton, Ont., and wood turtle surveys in Nova Scotia are among the newest crop of projects to receive Go Wild Community Grants, awarded today.
The Go Wild Community Grants program, presented by TELUS, helps thousands of Canadians connect more deeply with nature and find solutions to conservation challenges affecting their communities and wildlife across Canada. Since 2015, grants totalling more than $300,000 have been awarded to 74 projects across the country.
Sarah Winterton, vice-president of Nature Connected Communities at WWF-Canada, says:
“Reversing the decline of wildlife is a challenge that all Canadians can embrace and play a part in addressing. WWF-Canada is proud to support local organizations across the country as they restore natural habitat and undertake citizen science for conservation, and engage thousands of Canadians to take action for nature.”
The 2018 spring and summer projects, which will receive between $1,000 and $7,000 each, include:
- Calgary: The Miistakis Institute for the Rockies Inc. will monitor the intersection between animal crossings and human highways to develop strategies to reduce collisions and help the save movement of wildlife, such as the pronghorn antelope.
- Bella Bella, B.C.: Qqs (Eyes) Projects Society will work in the community to restore traditional practices around cultivating native plants.
- Kelowna, B.C.: The University of British Columbia will extend the Border Free Bees nectar trail to a wider community of bee ambassadors, creating new corridors for pollinators.
- Winnipeg: Nature Manitoba will grow a network of volunteers to care for vital wetland and grassland habitats at the Oak Lake and Plum Lakes Important Bird Areas, as well as take part in citizen science bird monitoring.
- Winnipeg: The Fort Whyte Foundation Inc. will restore native tallgrass prairie plants beneath a 60-kilowatt solar array at FortWhyte Alive, creating important habitat for bees.
- Annapolis Royal, N.S.: Clean Annapolis River Project will engage the community in wood turtle surveys, rain garden construction, coastal cleanups, water quality monitoring and other actions to preserve nature and wildlife.
- St. John’s, N.L.: Northeast Avalon ACAP will bring people back to Lundrigan’s Marsh by having businesses and the community help clean the shoreline and grow native plants for pollinators.
- Cambridge, Ont.: The rare Charitable Research Reserve will raise awareness about the importance of biodiversity and native plants through hands-on habitat restoration.
- Hamilton, Ont.: Green Venture will transform an urban lot into a natural space with a native plant demonstration garden for the community to enjoy and learn about local flood mitigation.
- Toronto: Green Thumbs Growing Kids will plant pollinator-supporting native trees, teach kids about the Ojibwemowin names for the trees and how they were used in the Anishnaabe traditions.
- Toronto: Ontario Nature’s Youth Council will hold planting events in Scarborough, Peterborough and Newmarket to engage people of all ages in creating bee and butterfly habitat.
- Kingston, Ont.: Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour will raise awareness about the fragility of at-risk turtle species that breed and lay eggs in the harbour.
- Ottawa: Ecology Ottawa will help restore Ottawa’s tree canopy, which is at risk from Emerald Ash Bore, by distributing 10,000 tree saplings to local landowners.
- Stratford, P.E.I.: The Stratford Area Watershed Improvement Group will help bring bees back to this rapidly developing area by creating a “pocket” pollinator garden.
- Châteauguay, Que.: Héritage Saint-Bernard will work to increase awareness of the decline of Quebec’s swallow populations and construct nesting boxes to help them recover.
WWF-Canada also awarded 36 elementary and secondary schools Go Wild grants of $500 to connect students to nature and give pollinators and other local wildlife a helping hand. For more information on Go Wild School Grants, visit wwf.ca/gowildschools.
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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4e915b19-7835-4e63-954c-2a7b84ea5d2b