'A safe haven': Edmonton family gives the gift of biodiversity with land donation

Frederick and Margaret Van De Pitte were the owners of the Great Grey Gardens until it was donated to the Nature Conservancy of Canada in 2024. (Photo: Margaret Van De Pitte)

This giving season, one Edmonton family is going big.

The Van De Pitte family has gifted 596 acres of land to the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). 

The parcel, known as the Great Gray Wildland, is located about 100 kilometres north of Edmonton. It was bought in 1971 by Margaret Van De Pitte and her late husband Frederick Van De Pitte as a place to unwind.

“On a slippery spring day, my husband and I sought a piece of wilderness to escape the city. We followed bear tracks to an old cabin, venturing deeper into the forest to lose ourselves. It was just the place for us," Margaret said in a press release.

"Pristine and teeming with life, from microbes to elk and bears, it also boasts stunning views of wonders like frequent northern lights and the Milky Way … We’re grateful this world of bogs, fens, and self-sustaining forest will endure, thanks to The Nature Conservancy of Canada.”

The land hosts wetlands and boreal forest, which are some of Canada's largest land-based carbon storehouses – holding nearly twice as much carbon per square kilometre as tropical forests.

In addition to a diverse plant ecosystem (including 11 species of orchid), the parcel is home to great gray owls, northern flying squirrels, lynx and black bears.

A great gray owl can be see in the Great Gray Wildland, a 596-acre tract of wilderness north of Edmonton. (Photo: Leta Pezderic)

Visiting neotropical birds also spend time there, including olive-sided flycatchers, which are a species of concern in Canada.

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According to the 2024 State of Canada’s Birds Report, long-distance migratory birds have declined by 29 per cent since 1970. The NCC said conserving habitats those species rely on, like those of the Great Gray Wildland, is critical.

In 2006, Van De Pitte's signed a conservation agreement with the NCC. The recent full donation of the land means those habitats will now be protected by the NCC forever.

"Margaret and Fredrick Van De Pitte’s love for the land and generosity have created a safe haven for the diverse species that call Great Gray Wildland home," said NCC natural area manager Delaney Schlemko.

"Conserving Alberta’s biodiverse landscapes takes a community effort. Exemplary land stewardship and generosity from Albertans not only protect vital habitats but also preserve the essential ecosystem services that nature provides."

A striped coalroot orchid can be seen in the Great Gray Wildland, a 596-acre parcel of land recently donated to the Nature Conservancy of Canada by the Van De Pitte Family. (Photo: Sean Feagan)

The NCC said the land is an important piece of habitat that connects crown lands and provincial protected areas.

It has now been certified by Environment and Climate Change Canada as ecologically significant and will be added to Canada's Protected and Conserved Areas database.

The NCC has now conserved more than 4,000 hectares of land in the Edmonton region.