Islands Trust Conservancy Annual Report 2018-2019

Extracted text (beginning)

Conservation land trust for Canada’s islands in the Salish Sea
2018/19
Annual 
Report



photos by kristine mayes except where indicated

Message from 
the Islands Trust 
Conservancy  
Board Chair
Working together to protect the islands in the Salish Sea 
In life change is inevitable, in business it is vital —    especially when the 
core business of our organization is to preserve and protect island eco-
systems while facing unprecedented ecological change. In a time where 
scientists describe dramatic declines in biodiversity as one of nine 
critical breaches in the earth’s planetary boundaries alongside climate 
change, pollution, loss of freshwater and ocean acidification, it is clear 
the world-as-we-know it is changing forever. Set against this backdrop of 
global climate change and uncertainty, the Islands Trust Conservancy 
is also experiencing organizational transformation. Change is good, and 
necessary to remain a robust organization that can respond to the many 
challenges we will face in the coming decades.  
One of the most significant changes in 2018/19 was that in May 2018, 
the Province responded to a long-standing request to rename the Islands 
Trust Fund to the Islands Trust Conservancy. Telling a compelling story 
that inspires nature protection is crucial to expanding our protected 
areas and support base. For many years, there was concern that the pre-
vious name was a barrier to effective communication and fundraising. 
The new name will help the organization be a strong and clear voice for 
nature conservation in the Islands Trust Area and beyond. 
In addition to telling a compelling story, who is included in that 
story is important. The Islands Trust Area is situated within the terri-
tories of the Coast Salish peoples who have lived on and cared for these 
beautiful lands and waters since time immemorial. The Islands Trust 
Conservancy acknowledges the traditional and treaty territories of 
the Coast Salish peoples, on whose lands and waters the Conservancy 
works and lives, and commits to identifying and collaborating on shared 
conservation goals and projects of mutual interest. This commitment 
is cemented in goal two of the Regional Conservation Plan and will be 
central to all the work we do going forward.
islands trust conservancy annual report 2018/194

Another timely change is that this is the first year the Conservancy 
worked with the new science-based and community-informed 
2018 –  2027 Regional Conservation Plan. The Plan identifies ten year 
targets that will help the Conservancy work towards its vision of the 
islands and waters of Canada’s Salish Sea as a vibrant tapestry of diverse 
cultures and ecology where humans live and work in harmony with the 
natural world. 
As a land trust and government body, the Islands Trust Conservancy 
promises the land and covenants we hold are protected forever. We treat  
each donation as an investment in our collective future. The Conservancy 
is also making some chang

First 3,000 characters. Open the original for the whole document.