Wildlife & Natural Spaces

You cannot protect what you do not know. Nature’s diversity exists all around us. SCCF works with individuals, partners and community groups to promote knowledge of wildlife and natural environments. We work to preserve and protect for all to enjoy, both now and in the future.

Make Muskrat Right - It's On all of Us Now

Gretchen Fitzgerald — October 28, 2016

Over the past few weeks,  protests about the potential for methyl mercury contamination downstream of the Muskrat Falls development in Labrador made national headlines. Sierra Club Canada Foundation has voiced strong opposition to the Muskrat Falls project for years, and tried to show the damage it will cause to wildlife and the Grande River, and the people who live downstream. We also tried to demonstrate that this type of mega-hydro development was not needed to meet our climate objectives, and there were plenty of less damaging, less expensive alternatives. All to no avail.

Contact Premier Wynne to voice your support for a fully protected and growing Greenbelt

Posted on October 20, 2016

There are positive proposals within the four draft provincial plans, including the Greenbelt plan, open for public comment until October 31st, Urban River Valley additions to note one example. There are also some alarming proposed changes that would allow land to be taken out of the current Greenbelt and handed to the developers. Section 3.4 Settlement Areas of the Greenbelt draft

Contact Premier Wynne to voice your support for a fully protected and growing Greenbelt

Posted on October 7, 2016

There are positive proposals within the four draft provincial plans, including the Greenbelt plan, open for public comment until October 31st, Urban River Valley additions to note one example. There are also some alarming proposed changes that would allow land to be taken out of the current Greenbelt and handed to the developers. Section 3.4 Settlement Areas of the Greenbelt draft contains an outline of a proposed process that could do just that and subject the Greenbelt to being turned into a Swiss cheese belt.

Shipments of Liquid Nuclear Waste Scheduled to Begin Soon

Peter Smith — September 26, 2016

Authorities in Canada and the United States are preparing to ship approximately 150 truckloads of liquid nuclear waste from Chalk River, Ontario to the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The material is a mixture of bomb grade uranium together with a witches’ brew of highly radioactive fission products dissolved in nitric acid.

Technoparc: a unique wetland area home to over 80 nesting species of birds faces an uncertain future

Posted on September 14, 2016
Imagine a wetland area that is home to over 80 nesting species including herons, raptors, songbirds and ducks. Then imagine it in the middle of a Technoparc on the Island of Montreal, a few miles west of downtown and just east of the Trudeau Airport.

Summer with the WILD CHILDREN

Posted on September 5, 2016
Photo credit: Jim Day, The Guardian

 Blog by Jenn Whittaker (with Tony Reddin)

Sierra Club's Wild Child PEI is sad to say that nature immersion visits have finished for the summer- over 30 visits to 15 child care centres in Charlottetown, Summerside and Montague! These were wonderful experiences for me and the centre workers to let children explore, run free and unleash their inner curiosity about the world around them.

These whales cannot go to court

Posted on August 17, 2016

In just the last few days, 1,347 concerned people like you have signed and sent a letter asking the government not to settle with a New Jersey company who has been thwarted from developing a destructive quarry in the Bay of Fundy.

Because of you, we have been an instrumental force on this campaign since the beginning, and we’re not going anywhere. But we need your help!

Blue Whale Project

The Blue Whale Project is a program of Sierra Club of Canada Foundation that seeks to be the proactive voice of the endangered Blue Whales in Atlantic Canada. The Blue Whale Project recognizes the Gulf of St Lawrence as critical habitat for this species and advocates for research, awareness, and responsible management of this essential marine ecosystem.

OUR GOALS:

Can’t We Just Say No?

Gretchen Fitzgerald — July 26, 2016
Joint US / Canada Sierra Club Meeting 2005

Thirteen years ago, I was hired as a consultant to provide expert advice on the impacts of the Digby Quarry. The local community had become alarmed about the quarry when they heard about plans to build a marine terminal at the site. Clearly, the quarry, which was originally 3.9 hectares –the size of quarry that eludes environmental assessment in Nova Scotia –was going to be much larger than they had thought. Turned out, a 120 hectare quarry was planned, located 50 metres from the shoreline.

Conserving Edmonton’s River Valley and Ravine System

Posted on June 24, 2016
Most of Edmonton’s natural lands lie within its extensive river valley and tributary ravine systems – an area of 7,400 ha and 48 km in length, including 22 ravines, for a combined total length of 103 km. Much of the area is either under private ownership or targeted by City Parks for recreational infrastructure. Golf courses, gravel quarries, a velodrome and other sports facilities, freeways, boat launches… have all been proposed over the past decades for what is often “free land” to the City. Fortunately there are a growing number of local ENGOs actively involved in conservation of these lands with whom we partner or support on a project basis.

Growing the Urban River Greenbelt in Peel

Posted on June 22, 2016

The Credit River is a special feature of Mississauga, and what could be more symbolic of the city’s wish to enjoy and protect its valued river than to grant it Provincial Greenbelt status?  But first, public awareness of this opportunity had to develop, as well as political will to break new ground by pushing through the lengthy provincial application process.

Sand Dunes? In Edmonton!

Posted on June 20, 2016

The Edmonton Group has traditionally focused on parkland creation and conservation. These are usually multi-year projects; our favorite, going on fifteen, is the Sand Dunes Natural Area (our name - bureaucratically known as NW384) in the far southwest of Edmonton.


We identified the feature in 2001, characterized its pro-glacial origins, and with the support of the Curator of Geology from our Provincial Museum, induced the City to purchase the lands the following year. The dunes lie on the easternmost extent of the 200 sq km glacio-lacustrine Devon Dune Field to the west of Edmonton.

Come to the Pollinator Party at Heart Lake

Kristina Jackson's picture
Posted on May 3, 2016

Annual Sierra Club Meadow Planting & Medicine Wheel Maintenance

Heart Lake Conservation Area
June 4th, 2016
10am to 2pm

Community wildflower plantings are fun for families, individuals and groups! High school students are welcome to gain volunteer hours

We provide all the equipment needed. Wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather.
Light refreshments will be available. Bring your own refillable water bottle, please.

Grow our Greenbelt

Sierra Club Ontario's Greenbelt Campaign is currently focused on Protecting and Growing the Greenbelt. Building on support from the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, Sierra Club Ontario has been making advances in protecting threatened ecosystems in Peel and Durham Region.

Halifax Diverse

Halifax Diverse creates opportunities for the public to learn about, engage with, and contribute to urban green spaces in the Halifax Regional Municipality. See our blog (found here) for information on upcoming events, past events, and occasionally, information about environmental happenings in HRM.