Land Stewardship

The Pender Island Conservancy Association jointly holds 20 Covenants on Pender Island. Putting a conservation covenant on your property creates a permanent sanctuary for the plants and animals you share your land with. When you place a covenant on your land, you agree to use and care for it in ways that protect its valuable natural features. The covenant ensures that the natural features that you value today will continue to be protected into the future, even after you sell o

The Pender Islands Conservancy played a key role in the acquisition of Brooks Point. The Conservancy partnered with the Friends of Brooks Point, the Islands Trust Conservancy, The Habitat Acquisition Trust, the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and the CRD in raising funds necessary to purchase and protect an ecologically diverse and vulnerable area of land adjoining Gowland Point on South Pender Island. The land was purchased in stages over several years, and the result is the b

Historical photo of Gowlland Point (Davy Rippner) In 1994 members of the Pender Islands Conservancy Association became aware that the Atkins family—owners of an ecologically valuable piece of land adjoining the popular Medicine Beach, and the tidal marsh behind it—were putting the property up for sale. The Conservancy was instrumental in raising $533,997, which included a $127,000 donation from the Atkins family, enabling the property to be purchased. In 1995 the Conservancy

Many vital ecosystems exist on privately owned land. For landowners who want to preserve the natural features of their property, there are two main legal mechanisms available: conservation covenants and land donation. Each option has different implications for ownership, use, and taxation. Conservation Covenants What is a Conservation Covenant? A conservation covenant is a legal agreement that permanently protects specific natural features on your property. It is registered o

By Dr. Pamela Wright Forest Wetland Nature Reserve, North Pender Island BC Conservation of terrestrial and marine ecosystems is important to protect wildlife and their habitats, to provide clean water and air, to protect watersheds and soil, to buffer against natural disasters, to fight climate change, to support local communities through sustainable livelihoods and tourism, and for many more reasons. We often hear the question: How much do we need to protect? The answer is c

Along a shaded north-facing slope on Pender Island, big-leaf maple seedlings and saplings emerge from the understorey and recruit into the canopy in gaps formed by fallen trees; the beginning of old-growth forest structure is re-emerging from this heavily harvested landscape of the past century. The land slopes steeply up toward a dry ridge of arbutus and Garry oak. Along the way, a perched wetland collects water and sprouts skunk cabbage from its saturated soils. This precio

Imagine a place where sun-drenched Garry Oak meadows border moist, shady seeps, all perched above steep rocky cliffs overlooking the Salish Sea. Imagine a cool, mossy forest where ghost pipe emerges from the carpet of green and oceanspray, red huckleberry, salal and Oregon grape fill the forest floor. Where over 60 species of plants, birds and mammals find a home, providing shelter, food and space to grow and roam. Now imagine knowing that this place has been protected foreve

Introducing Vulture Ridge Nature Reserve and Osprey Ridge Nature Reserve: Two new nature sanctuaries on S,DÁYES, Pender Island! We are excited to announce that two new Nature Reserves have been established on S,DÁYES (Pender Island), protecting an additional 46 acres (19 ha) of diverse, mature forest and enhancing connections with existing protected lands. Vulture Ridge Nature Reserve lies on the north-facing slope along Clam Bay Road, supports forest wetlands, diverse microc

The Role of Conservation Land Trusts in a Landscape of Development The Pender Islands Conservancy was established as a Land Trust 31 years ago in response to increasing human development and associated loss of ecosystems in our community. Across Canada, Land Trusts exist to protect private land in perpetuity through donation, acquisition or conservation agreements. Our founders enshrined in the Pender Islands Conservancy’s Constitution the mandate to “preserve and protect lan

Together, the Pender Islands Conservancy, Raincoast Conservation Foundation, and our conservation community have permanently protected KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest. Image by Les Peterson In just over 12 months, the Pender Conservancy and Raincoast Conservation Foundation have raised $2.18 million to purchase and permanently protect the 45 acre KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest on S,DÁYES (Pender Island). The closing of this campaign comes just over a year after our collective effort t

As we reflect on the Pender Conservancy's past 30 years of land protection on S,DÁYES (Pender Island), we are humbled by the profound efforts of so many people who have given so much of their time and resources to secure the protection of sensitive ecosystems that we continue to lose every day to development, exotic species invasion, and fragmentation. S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest; Photo by Alex Harris Land Purchase for Protection Over the past 12 months, we have been seeking co

Image by Alex Harris It has been less than a year since we launched our campaign to permanently protect KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest and together we have already raised over $2 million. As we enter the final days of our fundraising campaign, we have been reflecting on all that has happened over the last year. We are overwhelmed by the incredible support of our conservation community, from Pender Island to Halifax, from British Columbia to Switzerland, and beyond! On the ground,

Dr. Pamela Wright Maintaining or restoring connectivity for species and ecosystems is key to saving biodiversity. We often think of connectivity across geographies, like grey whales migrating from wintering grounds in Baja, Mexico, to summer feeding grounds in the Arctic. However, vertical connectivity is also crucial at large and small scales. Large Scale: Elevational and Latitudinal Connectivity Over large spatial scales, vertical connectivity is expressed as cross-elevatio

By Shauna Doll and Dr. Erin O’Brien Without protection, this forest will become a residential suburb. Image by Alex Harris When the Pender Islands Conservancy and Raincoast Conservation Foundation made the decision to purchase what is now known as KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest, we had to act fast. Since the 1950’s when it was last logged, the land had mostly been left alone. However, in late 2021 rumblings began rippling through the Pender Island community: plans to transform t

By Shauna Doll, Gulf Islands Forest Project Coordinator, Raincoast Conservation Trees to Seas EcoFair provided opportunities for education and building community connections and in the process raised $15,000 toward the protection of KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest. Hannah Stoakes at the Meadow Making Workshop Photo by Kelly Irving After a record-breaking 100-day drought in the Salish Sea region, the morning of October 22nd dawned to the welcome sound of a light rain, the perfect b

Thank you to everyone who helped to make the third annual Ursula Poepel Broom Bash a success.

Belted kingfishers are the only species of kingfisher found in Canada. Living at the interface between land and water, these iconic blue birds symbolize the interconnectedness of all ecosystems surrounding the Salish Sea. Photo by: Oliver Tweedie By: Dr. Erin O’Brien, Avian Biologist, Pender Islands Conservancy Association Near the top of the cutbank that slopes down to the shoreline of KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest are several excavated holes burrowed into the bank. These burro

Be Ursula for a day! She was passionate about this island and unafraid to share her thoughts on it. She was Pender's Broom Bash queen. In honour of her passion and perseverance in removing this highly invasive plant, the Pender Island Conservancy presents the 3rd annual Ursula Poepel Broom Bash from May 15-28. We will kick off the Bash together with Raincoast Conservation Foundation, on Sunday, May 15, from 10 am- 3pm. We will be removing broom at KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest

Many thanks to the folks who scoured the beaches, shores, parks and roadsides of North and South Pender removing plastics, garbage and other debris, preventing two large bin loads from potentially getting into the Salish Sea. Thanks also to those who helped people collect their debris and get it into the bins at the drop-off site, and to those who baked treats, signed people in, directed traffic, played music, and took care of the many other tasks required for this event, esp

On December 22, 2021, the Pender Islands Conservancy and Raincoast Conservation Foundation announced the first step toward the purchase...