CHAIR'S MESSAGE
Don Pearson
Sharing a Big Picture Vision
Carolinian Canada made a few good leaps and hit a few hurdles in 2015-16 towards our strategic directions to connect, measure and sustain a Big Picture vision.
How do you connect one quarter of all Canadians?
This year we connected our Big Picture vision and flagship Ecosystem Recovery Program to local economy, health and culture. To save wild places, we helped people explore their natural world through EcoTrails and outdoor adventure. To steward whole landscapes, we helped Landowners Leaders showcase best practices and launched our new series of Big Picture Principles. To seed healthy habitats, we expanded Go Wild Grow Wild, a landmark event for the Zone, connecting thousands of new allies to conservation programs and green businesses.
Our network, now 4000 strong, is steadily growing and strengthening relationships with First Nations and municipalities. We continue to coordinate one of the largest ecosystem recovery networks with over 150 partners who help hundreds of rare and iconic Canadian species. We reached our goal of Conservation Action Plans for all biodiversity hotspots with the addition of the Rouge.
How do you sustain a Big Picture approach?
Our sustainable funding strategy helped us balance our budget this year, despite the loss of major sources of funding. Through a mix of earned income and member donations, we were able to run on a shoestring. As a result, we were sad to lose several good team members. However, we are not the only conservation group feeling the pinch.
This chronic trend of under-resourcing conservation is alarming and puts the future of the Big Picture and this ecoregion into question. We call on all sectors to work together to expand resources to meet the needs for natural infrastructure to support healthy landscapes.
How do you measure a vision?
Our Big Picture Report Card program shows that less than 3% of the landscape is protected here and biodiversity continues to be lost despite many gains in environmental protection in the past three decades since we started our collaborative program. Together, we have slowed the losses and each decade we have enhanced our vision, goals and influence. As we approach 2020, we believe the tide can be turned with a focused strategic, effort on key targets from all who care about wild species in Canada.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
Michelle Kanter
Growing a Green Future
We save wild species and spaces in Canada’s deep south because this zone is one of the most vibrant, diverse and threatened landscapes in Canada. Saving Canadian biodiversity is not just a matter for nature-lovers. Smart communities know that nature is at the heart of the health and well-being of our home landscapes.
Canada’s most vibrant ‘garden’ is home to some of Canada’s most productive land and 25% of our population. A green future is everybody’s business. The Big Picture connects actions across the zone from urban to rural, from private to public, along trails, rivers and by-ways. It is a recipe for healthy, resilient landscapes and a survival kit for climate change.
With strong resources, conservation in this region can engage Canadians at a grand scale and act as a model to other parts of the country. The size of the area of do-able, there is a plenty of ‘people-power’ and we can harness climate-resilient ecosystem benefits to cost-effectively address multiple landscape priorities.
We invite you to join our community to proactively address major landscape challenges and grow home landscapes that are healthier, safer and more resilient for wildlife and people.