Sunday morning, an enthusiastic crowd gathered at the St. Mary’s River Association Interpretive Centre in Sherbrooke for a community celebration.
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Sherbrooke is home to Sherbrooke Village, a long celebrated historic and tourist attraction. However, a lesser known fact about this community—and the reason for this week’s celebration—is that, at its heart, is a thriving movement to protect not only Nova Scotia’s history, but its future too.
A champion of this movement comes in the form of 14 year old Reid Anderson, who, at the age of 11, voiced his desire to see the land protected for the benefit of the wildlife that call the area home. Reid, along with his father Jamie, and his grandfather Murray—whose ancestors have lived in Sherbrooke since the 1800s—have succeeded in protecting this portion of their family land, in perpetuity, in partnership with the Nova Scotia Nature Trust.
The formal announcement of the river’s newest conservation site was made on Sunday. The land will been named the C.W. Anderson Conservation Lands—in honour of Murray’s grandfather who was a mill owner, shipbuilder and general store proprietor in Sherbrooke in the early 1900s.
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This 110-acre property supports a bald eagle feeding site and over 1,000 metres of shoreline on the Main Branch of the St. Mary’s River. According to Dennis Garratt, the Nature Trust’s Conservation Manager, “this site is a wonderful contribution to conservation on the river. Its varied forest habitats and undisturbed shoreline will help keep the river shaded and healthy for Nova Scotia’s imperilled Atlantic salmon.”
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The property was acquired with support of the Nova Scotia Crown Share Land Legacy Trust, and generous sponsorship provided by EnCana, the David and Faye Sobey Foundation, and ExxonMobil Canada.
There is an old proverb which states “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, but rather, borrow it from our children.” In permanently protecting this land, the Anderson family has recognized the ultimate truth of this idea and has both preserved an important connection to their family history, and ensured that Reid and those who come after him will always have a connection to this treasured place.
This property is the fourth site protected through the Nature Trust’s St. Mary’s River Conservation Legacy Campaign, which has protected over 400 acres of land along the River to date. The Nature Trust is Nova Scotia’s leading private land conservation group, with over 4,300 acres protected on private lands across the province.
The St. Mary’s River
The St. Mary’s River is one of the most scenic rivers in the province, and has long been popular among salmon-fishermen, even attracting baseball great Babe Ruth to fish its waters.
Aside from its recreational and scenic value, it is also highly significant ecologically, supporting four “ecological gems”:
Important habitat for wood turtles, a national species-at-risk;
Habitat for Atlantic salmon, a species that is declining throughout its range;
Some of the last remnants of old-growth hemlock forest in the province;
Some of the most extensive and intact remnants of Acadian floodplain forest in the province. These forest provide a variety of important ecological functions, while providing habitat for rare floodplain plants.
The St. Mary’s River Conservation Legacy Campaign
Begun in 2006, the St. Mary’s River Conservation Legacy campaign is focused on protecting the most outstanding natural areas on the river, through private land conservation, landowner outreach, and community education.
Since 2006, over 150 landowners of priority properties have been personally contacted to share information about options for land conservation and shoreline stewardship. The Nature Trust has also launched a successful community outreach initiative, including a variety of activities, from guided nature walks, to public presentations and community celebrations.
The first major land conservation success of the campaign was the donation of two ecologically significant properties on the river by the late Sandy Cameron, his wife, Shirley, and their family.
The success of the project continued last year, with the Nature Trust protecting the stunning Hemlock Falls Nature Reserve in partnership with the province of Nova Scotia.
The vision for the campaign is to work with landowners to protect, as “forever wild” conservation lands, some of the most outstanding natural areas on the river. Voluntary stewardship of shoreline properties is important in connecting the permanently protected areas, creating a network of protected lands along the river.
Intact natural habitats on the shore are essential to the long-term health of the river and to the survival of the species that depend on the river for their survival, including wood turtles and Atlantic salmon.
I’ve been away for a few days doing some work travel.
I had a nice trip out with my brother Warren the other night.
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Sherbrooke is home to Sherbrooke Village, a long celebrated historic and tourist attraction. However, a lesser known fact about this community—and the reason for this week’s celebration—is that, at its heart, is a thriving movement to protect not only Nova Scotia’s history, but its future too.-745023.jpg)
This 110-acre property supports a bald eagle feeding site and over 1,000 metres of shoreline on the Main Branch of the St. Mary’s River. According to Dennis Garratt, the Nature Trust’s Conservation Manager, “this site is a wonderful contribution to conservation on the river. Its varied forest habitats and undisturbed shoreline will help keep the river shaded and healthy for Nova Scotia’s imperilled Atlantic salmon.” 
