What is the Nature Conservancy of Canada (natureconservancy.ca)?

Updated

natureconservancy.ca is the official website of the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), a national charity that describes itself as "the country's unifying force for nature," working to deliver large-scale, permanent land conservation. If you want to understand what NCC does, check its conservation results, or find ways to support or get involved with nature protection in Canada, this site is the organization's main public entry point.

What NCC does

NCC's stated mission is large-scale, permanent land conservation. Rather than running a single park or reserve, it works across the country to protect ecologically significant land, often by acquiring it and managing it for conservation over the long term.

The homepage frames this around several themes:

  • Land and water protection — "The land we protect helps keep Canada's water flowing clean."
  • Biodiversity and food systems — noting that 75% of Canada's food crops depend on pollinators.
  • Large landscapes — a featured project focuses on expanding protection of the Boreal Forest.

The scale of its impact

The site presents NCC's results in concrete numbers, which is the clearest way to gauge what the organization has actually accomplished:

Measure Figure
Ecologically significant land conserved across Canada since 1962 20 million hectares
Species at risk protected on NCC lands 258
Share of all donations going directly to land, programs and endowments 82%

These figures come from the "Your Impact" section of the homepage and give a sense of both the geographic scale and how the organization allocates donor money.

What you'll find on the site

The website is organized as a mix of reporting, storytelling and calls to action:

  • Impact Report — the 2025–2026 edition is highlighted on the homepage.
  • NCC Magazine — a summer issue covering partnerships, creative thinking and data tools used in conservation.
  • Blog — for example, a post on monarch butterfly migration research and how it could guide habitat protection and restoration.
  • News — such as the announcement of the Beothuk Lake Nature Reserve, a new conservation area protecting a Newfoundland watershed through public and private partnership.
  • Featured projects — current priorities like the Boreal Forest expansion.

Ways to get involved

The site directs visitors toward supporting conservation. One area that is clearly developed is legacy giving, with dedicated pages for:

  • Planning your legacy
  • Gifts in your will
  • Gifts of RRSP/RRIF
  • Gifts of life insurance
  • Annuities

These pages indicate that planned giving is a structured option for supporters, though the site does not publish specific amounts or terms on the pages referenced here.

When this site is useful to you

  • You want to know who NCC is and what it has protected — the impact figures and project pages answer this directly.
  • You're researching Canadian conservation organizations and want to compare scale and focus.
  • You're considering supporting or leaving a gift to a conservation charity and want to see the available giving options.
  • You want current conservation news and research in a readable, non-technical format.

If your interest is a specific local reserve, species or volunteer opportunity, start from the project, blog or news sections rather than the homepage summary, since those pages carry the detail.