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Nine out of 10 Canadians are happier when they spend time in nature

Many Canadians are finding it harder to get outdoors, even though the vast majority say they feel better when they are connected to nature. That’s what a recent survey for the Nature Conservancy of Canada reveals. The online survey of 2,000 Canadian adults, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs, found that nine out of 10 Canadians say they feel happier when they have a connection to nature. However, almost three quarters of respondents say they find it easier to spend time indoors, and two thirds say they spend less time in nature today than they did when they were younger. The importance of staying connected to the natural world is something that Cheryl Hickey understands very well. The host of Entertainment Tonight Canada is best known for her TV coverage of glitzy red carpet affairs, but she says she feels most at home in nature — something she traces back to her upbringing in smalltown Ontario. “We spent, as kids, more time outside than we did inside,” Hickey said. Hickey said exploring the great outdoors with her siblings growing up gave her a lifelong appreciation for the natural world and taught her independence, resourcefulness, and self-confidence. “The valuable lessons that my brother, sister, and I learned as kids, I take with me today,” she said. Hickey said those are the same lessons she’s passing on to her own two young children, and that they take every opportunity possible to spend time enjoying nature

together as a family. “It’s so important to their growth,” she said. “I think the more parents realize that this is a crucial part of growing up, the better we will all be.” Hickey recently shared her perspective at the public launch of the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Landmark Campaign in Toronto. NCC is the largest private land conservation organization in Canada. The Landmark Campaign is the most ambitious fundraising effort in its history. The $750-million campaign will double the area of land and water conserved by NCC to more than six million acres, with 500 new conservation projects planned across the country. John Lounds, NCC’s president and CEO, said the campaign represents a “turning point” for the organization’s conservation efforts. “We looked at what we’ve accomplished over the past 56 years and made a decision that we weren’t working fast enough,” Lounds said. “Our natural areas — our grasslands, our forests, our wetlands, lakes and rivers — are all declining faster than we can protect them. Habitat loss is the leading threat to Canada’s native plants and animals.” Along with the launch of the Landmark Campaign, NCC also curated a pop-up art exhibit in Toronto called Nature and Me. It features photography from such notable Canadians as Jim Cuddy, Clara Hughes, Cheryl Hickey, and Rick Mercer, among others, as well as their personal reflections on interacting with Canada’s natural environment. The exhibit will tour the country this fall with NCC’s NatureTalks

speakers’ series. Lounds said Canadians have a unique relationship to the natural world that’s worth protecting. One of NCC’s goals with the Landmark Campaign is to make sure new generations of Canadians continue to feel that connection to nature. “The question is, how do we make sure we have a country that lives up to our own view of who we are? What kind of country do we want to be?” Lounds said. The Landmark Campaign is an opportunity for Canadians from all walks of life to pitch in to conserve Canada’s natural beauty. The campaign is set to be the largest charitable campaign for conservation in Canadian history, and momentum is growing. NCC has already raised more than $550 million under the campaign. The money will go toward projects aimed at protecting sensitive ecosystems, conserving habitat for at-risk species, and improving air and water quality. Lounds, who has led NCC for over two decades, reflected that unlike many other countries, Canada still has much of its wilderness intact. Whether the Landmark Campaign can inspire a broad cross-section of Canadian society to conserve that legacy is the true measure of success. “There’s the old proverb: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” he said. “That’s what we want to create here is more people working together because that is how we’re going to go far in terms of conservation in Canada.”