The Nature Trust of New Brunswick (Nature Trust) is a charitable land conservation organization which conserves over 12,000 acres of land on 75+ diverse nature preserves throughout the province. Funding from the R. Howard Webster Foundation has allowed the Nature Trust to strengthen its monitoring capacity over the past two years, lending especially to initiatives concerning Species At-Risk.
The Nature Trust has organized three workshops on monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) monitoring, equipping 16 volunteers with the necessary expertise to collect data on monarchs. Over the course of 2022 and 2023, the Nature Trust completed bird surveys at six nature preserves with Species-At-Risk bird habitat and led workshops on key monitoring skills for the olive-sided flycatcher (Contopus cooperi) and the Canada warbler (Cardellina canadensis). The Nature Trust has also developed a presence and absence survey for wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta), and is working closely with the Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development to develop a monitoring plan for Cobblestone Tiger Beetle (Cicindela marginipennis).
The Nature Trust has also organized two major projects to support Species At-Risk. The Bat House Project aims to install 20 bat boxes on 5 nature preserves, creating a network of volunteers to monitor boxes across the province. The Bur Oak Restoration Project is a volunteer-led initiative to grow seedlings out of acorns and plant them on the four Nature Trust’s preserves. This project has seen an 88% success rate of 241 of the 271 seedlings surviving their first winter.
Bur Oak planting at the Pickerel Pond Nature Preserve