Discover, Connect & Share from Sea to Sea to Sea

 We've entered an idea in the Aviva Community Fund challenge! But we need your help to make this vision a reality. The next round of voting starts on Monday, October 24 and every vote brings us one step closer to empowering young nature leaders across the country. Sign up now to be ready to vote or read on to learn more about our idea.

The Project

"It was in the Arctic that I started to realize the significance of a sustainable lifestyle."
– Donovan Taplin (17 years old)Bell Island, Newfoundland

Photo by Lee Narraway/Students on Ice

City traffic, air and noise pollution, cell phones, shopping malls and a daily deluge of e-mail are a reality for most Canadians. We spend our days indoors, sitting under fluorescent lights and breathing re-circulated air.

Our children play video games; they don't play outside. They know how to navigate the internet, but don't know what birds live in their backyards. They learn about big issues like climate change, but don't have the connection with nature that will let them truly understand the problem.

We are isolated from nature. We are isolated from each other.

Nature Canada and Students on Ice want to provide a life-changing opportunity for Canadian youth from sea to sea to sea. We will help them discover nature first-hand on the Arctic Expedition 2012, connect with peers and mentors in community dialogue, and share their experiences with other young people at a national Youth Leadership Summit. We hope that each person who is touched by the SEA to SEA to SEA experience is inspired to lead positive change in their own individual communities.

The Partners

For more than 70 years Nature Canada, a membership-based not-for-profit conservation organization, has been a leader in connecting Canadians to nature.

We have worked with hundreds of local groups in every province and territory to deliver community-based projects including the Parks & People program, allowing youth to experience nature first-hand; the Community Action Fund, enabling on-the-ground conservation activities; the Important Bird Areas Caretaker Network, engaging stewards for habitat and species protection; and Nature Explorers, an integrated program that will see one million children and their families participating in multiple experiences in nature over the next five years. 

Students on Ice is an award-winning program that provides youth from across Canada and around the world with ship-based education expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic.

The Students on Ice mandate is to educate and inspire the next generation of leaders and responsible global citizens, and in doing so help provide them with a greater understanding and respect for the planet.

The Plan

Nature Canada and Students on Ice are seeking $150,000 of support from the Aviva Community Fund to assist with on-the-ground delivery of the 2012 SEA to SEA to SEA experience that will empower Canadian youth through a transformative journey.

Photo by Lee Narraway/Students on Ice

In August 2012, 75 students from around the world will participate in the Students on Ice Arctic Expedition 2012. Through a nationwide selection process, a young Canadian from every province and territory will be chosen to participate on the expedition thanks to this support from AVIVA. These funds will facilitate this journey of discovery and the development of young nature ambassadors.

Highlights of the expedition will include a welcome event hosted by the community of Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, and a visit with community leaders and Inuit elders in Pagnirtung to learn about their observations of climate change and its impacts on their community and way of life. The team will stop at National Parks, Important Bird Areas, and spectacular fjords along the way to immerse themselves in learning directly in the spectacular landscape. Participants will have a chance to see magnificent Arctic wildlife, including seabirds, whales, and polar bears.

Throughout the expedition, students will have a chance to learn from each other and connect with mentors. Ongoing discussions will let them reflect on their experiences and energize them to become leaders for environmental and social change in their own individual communities when they return home.

In November 2012, 130 youth from across Canada will converge at a Youth Leadership Summit to explore what the Arctic means to Canada, how our country is connected from SEA to SEA to SEA, and why healthy sustainable communities are critical for our future, the Arctic's future and the planet's future.

The AVIVA Nature Ambassadors from the expedition will serve as youth leaders, motivating their peers as they share their recent Arctic journey, experiences and new knowledge.

The Youth Leadership Summit will empower participants as young leaders, changing their lives and communities. They will make lasting connections that will link Canadian communities from sea to sea to sea in a sustainable future.

"I am taking on the world as an ambassador of positive change."
– Victoria Wee (17 years old)Coquitlam, British Columbia

Please vote to empower change, from sea to sea to sea.

Connect with Nature: Get Outside and Get Active

Skating on the Rideau Canal. Photo by Xiaozhuli via Flickr

According to a recent Statistics Canada study,

"just 15 per cent of adults are meeting the latest proposed guidelines in Canada for averaging 2 1/2 hours per week of moderate to vigorous activity. For children, just seven per cent are achieving the benchmark of at least one hour of activity per day."

Spending time outside is an easy way to increase your physical health. Even as the cold and snow of winter have a firm grip on most of the country, there are many fun activities to do in nature.

Skiing, snowboarding, skating and sledding immediately come to mind as favourite winter sports, and we can't forget about hockey! But you don't need much equipment to enjoy everything that nature has to offer this season. What about something as simple as a winter wildlife walk or building a snowman in your yard? Just make sure you dress appropriately for the activity you are doing and the weather forecast for your area.

What are you doing this winter to get outside and get active? Let us know about your favourite winter activities in the comments.

Nature Canada and the International Year of Biodiversity

Recalling the commitment made by Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction in the current rate of loss of biodiversity, and realizing the magnitude of efforts required to achieve this target, the United Nations General Assembly declared, in 2007, that 2010 be the International Year of Biodiversity.

Nature Canada is strongly positioned to endorse the International Year of Biodiversity. We have joined Countdown 2010, an initiative of the IUCN to help mobilize action to ensure that all governments and members of civil society, at every level, take the necessary actions to halt biodiversity loss in 2010.



As partners in this initiative, we have agreed to take action to save biodiversity and add momentum to reach the 2010 Biodiversity Target. In addition, we have pledged to:

1) Monitor the implementation of the Species at Risk Act (SARA) by the Canadian Government and engage, where appropriate, to ensure the effective protection and recovery of endangered species and their habitat
2) Monitor the Canadian Government’s promises to establish new protected areas and expand those already established. We are also pushing for completion of an effective network of parks to protect and connect species and their habitats, and enable them to adapt to a changing climate
3) Support and mobilize a network of people who care about nature
4) Protect key sites for breeding and non-breeding Canadian birds through the Important Bird Areas Program of BirdLife International (co-partner with Bird Studies Canada)
5) Recommend measurable, identifiable and feasible targets for the Post-2010 Target of the CBD (2020 Strategic Plan) to the Government of Canada
6) Spread the word about the International Year of Biodiversity at events, workshops and conferences held by Nature Canada, and frame upcoming events and communication products around the International Year of Biodiversity and various ‘awareness days’ such as the World Environment Day.

We encourage all of our members, supporters and all those who are keen on achieving this target to engage in enriching and important activities throughout 2010 to help us – and everyone around the world – achieve it.

Some proposed activities:

- Become an Important Bird Area (IBA) Caretaker and help us conserve our birds and their habitats

- Become a Species Watchdog and assist us in ensuring our species at risk are provided with legal protection (Please contact Nature Canada for more information)

- Put up bird and butterfly feeders around your home to promote the coexistence of humans and wildlife

- Build and erect a nest box for migratory species such as swallows or bluebirds on your property

- Join a naturalist club in your area and participate in regular outings – you might even participate in a Christmas Bird Count in your area

- Find out if you can volunteer with a wildlife rehabilitation centre in your region to help wildlife cope with the impacts of an expanding human population and habitat loss

- Find out what environmental by-laws are in effect in your community and make sure you follow them

- Learn at least 10 new things related to nature in your region. Then share them with 10 more people.

- Contribute some of your time by volunteering for a nature-related cause

- Make a donation to a group engaged in biodiversity conservation – and don’t forget about the potential benefits at tax time!

- Learn about at least 5 environmental initiatives in your own community, city or region

- Read at least one book with a biodiversity or environment theme this year

- Create an album of at least 12 nature photographs this year (e.g., 1 photo per month) and describe what aspect of each photo helps you appreciate nature

- Challenge yourself to buy local, organic food during the harvest times in your region

- Go on at least one outdoor expedition, such as a bird watching trip, to connect with nature

- Organize a native tree planting event in your community, or check with your town or city to see if a sponsored tree planting program exists

Celebrating International Women's Day 2010

On this day of celebrating the achievements of women around the world, Nature Canada is highlighting our current integrated conservation and development project in Paraguay.

Working with local partners Guyra Paraguay and Fortaleser, our project will enable Paraguayan women farmers to fully participate in the integral rural development of their communities. The partners will work with 450 women farmers in four communities to improve their food security, health, gender equality and democratic governance, and to raise their awareness of the need for biodiversity conservation. The women will receive the tools and training they need to pursue organic farming, product commercialization and to reduce soil degradation and unsustainable use of natural resources.

You can learn more about Nature Canada's commitment to international conservation, and how it relates to our programs in Canada, on our website.

Photo by Fortaleser