After 20 years away, last July, Carolyn Stewart returned to Islands Trust Conservancy (ITC) in her role as Manager for seven months. Carolyn was the second manager of ITC, known at the time as Islands Trust Fund, from 1996 to 2003. With a Masters degree in Planning and Resource Management from the University of Guelph, and a passion for all things parks and protected areas planning, she spent those initial seven years working to expand ITC’s conservation covenants, the exciting new tool for conservation at the time. After being with us for seven months, in January, Carolyn went back to retirement, but not before we had a chance to sit down and ask her some of her favourite stories and memories about Islands Trust Conservancy.
What are some of your favourite achievements of Islands Trust Conservancy over the past 35 years?
“The first thing that came to mind when I think of the 35th anniversary was the first project that I worked on when I first started working for Islands Trust Conservancy in 1996 – the acquisition of three original parcels of land known as Brooks Point. Brooks Point was a phenomenal project because it involved collaborating with seven conservation groups, including ITC, to fundraise to protect the property. It was inspiring to see all of the conservation organizations come together in such a collaborative way to protect this incredible place. The project was a huge success! The lands became Brooks Point Regional Park, and two additional properties have been added to the protected area over the years. I’m so glad such a beautiful property is protected forever and that ITC holds a covenant on the property to ensure it is well managed.”
“A second memory that stands out is another highly collaborative project called the South and West Salt Spring Conservation Partnership. Many conservation organizations from the region started working together through this partnership after we all realized how important it was to protect the south end of Salt Spring Island due to its high concentration of important ecosystems and species. Three or four times a year, we would get together as a group to connect on our organization’s efforts to protect land in this area. By working collaboratively, we were able to protect more land through covenants, nature reserves, and regional and provincial parks. We know that we can accomplish so much more by working together.”
What words come to mind when you think about the contributions and efforts of landholders to support Islands Trust Conservancy over the past 35 years?
“The Islands Trust Area has always been known as an area that attracted people who are highly conservation minded. In the beginning, we had lots of people wanting to make donations of land and place covenants with us. As a new organization, we were thrilled that people wanted to work with us and thrilled that they wanted to protect land of high conservation value on the islands. There were landholders on almost every island that wanted to make a difference and that recognized the importance of protecting land, ecosystems, and species. Landholders worked with us at all levels too, not just through placing covenants and donating nature reserves, but donating stocks and leaving money as well. The support from landholders over the past 35 years has been incredible.”
Is there anything else that you want to share about Islands Trust Conservancy’s 35th anniversary?
“I want to recognize the dedication of ITC staff, board members, and our conservation partners over the years. The staff have always been incredible people and passionate beyond passion. We’ve had strong support for the organization at the board level too with lots of longstanding board members who are highly knowledgeable. Our incredible conservation partners have such a true dedication to this work as well. It’s truly been such a wonderful organization to be a part of.”
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This year, Islands Trust Conservancy is celebrating its 35th anniversary! This blog post was created in celebration of the organization’s anniversary – recognizing the stories and memories of our community members throughout the islands.
Islands Trust Conservancy (ITC) is a conservation land trust dedicated to creating a network of protected areas on the islands in the Salish Sea. Since 1990, ITC has worked with island residents and communities to protect the places they care about. Through generous donations, ITC has protected 115 properties – 34 nature reserves and 81 conservation covenants totalling more than 1,385 hectares of land. We are committed to ensuring this unique region’s protection for generations to come.
Join us at: https://islandstrust.bc.ca/conservancy/how-you-can-help/.
Learn more about the places we protect at: https://islandstrust.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/attachmentviewer/index.html?appid=eb7447641f72494e95b8fa030365b3b2.