The 2 February is World Wetlands Day. It's held on the same day every year.

And to honour the day, the Nature Conservancy of Canada announced that a 593 hectare parcel of land had been donated for use as a conservation area.

Situated on the north west shore of Gough Lake and known as the Ferrier property, the area is essential for deer, small mammals, grassland birds, shorebirds and waterfowl that live and migrate through the region.

And a number of species that are considered to be at risk have been discovered in the area, such as the Baird's sparrow and Sprague's pipit.

The wetlands are valuable as shorebird nesting and staging habitat for waterfowl.  Unfortunately research suggests that 64% of slough and marsh wetlands have disappeared in settled areas of the province. 

The Ferrier family owned the land since 1904.   Agnes Isabelle Ferrier left the site to the Nature Conservancy of Canada in her will. 

This property is one of 4 new wetland conservation rojects that were announced on Friday, so this has got to be good news for wildlife needing wetlands.  Find out more about it here.

In addition to the above news, the Nature Conservancy of Canada bought 160 acres, which had ecologically significent wetland habitat north of Good Spirit Provincial Park, Saskatchewan.  It has a number of species of waterfowl during breeding and migration, and a diversity of other birds and wildlife.  Moose needed the forest and shoreline for shelter and habitat.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada also conserved a 61-acre island which has a plant rare to Canada and which is listed as threatened under the Canadian Species at Risk Act.  The location is  Lobster Bay, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia.  Find out more here

Conservation volunteers do vital work for the Nature Conservancy of Canada, as the video below shows: