Nature Canada recognizes City of Calgary

Nature Canada recognizes City of Calgary

Nature Canada recognizes Lieutenant Governor of Alberta as newest member of Women for Nature and City of Calgary for their work to keep cats safe and save bird lives

CALGARY, AB—(March 19, 2017)—Nature Canada, Canada’s oldest national nature conservation charity, is hosting a reception, Monday, March 20, 2017 to recognize the Honourable Lois E. Mitchell, CM AOE, LLD, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta as the newest member of its Women for Nature initiative.

Nature Canada’s Women for Nature initiative brings together women of influence who choose to demonstrate their passion for nature and drive change. The reception is scheduled to begin at 4:30 pm at the Hotel Arts, 119 12th Ave SW, Calgary. Media are invited to attend the reception.

As Canada approaches its 150th anniversary in 2017, Nature Canada aims to accelerate its positive impact on the natural world with the collaborative partnership of 150 women of influence including many from Alberta.

“Nature Canada is delighted Her Honour, The Honourable Lois E. Mitchell, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta—a highly influential, respected businesswoman and a proud, longstanding member of Alberta’s dedicated corps of community volunteers— is to become a Women for Nature,” says Eleanor Fast, Executive Director for Nature Canada. “Having Her Honour, The Honourable Lois E. Mitchell, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta as an advocate and role model for the important role nature plays will help us to protect our natural heritage and connect more Canadians to nature.”

In addition, tomorrow’s reception also includes a presentation of Nature Canada’s inaugural Safe Cats Safe Birds Award to the City of Calgary for its progressive municipal policy that keeps cats safe and saves bird lives.

“The City of Calgary’s Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw is a model for other municipalities to follow,” says Eleanor Fast, Executive Director for Nature Canada. “Our Keep Cats Safe and Save Bird Lives national campaign asks Canadian cat owners to join a growing movement of people who keep their cats supervised if they go outdoors. Unsupervised outdoor cats are at considerable danger from collisions with cars, fights with wildlife, diseases and poisons and are responsible for an estimated 100 to 350 million bird deaths a year in Canada.”

“It is an honour for The City of Calgary to receive Nature Canada’s inaugural Safe Cats Safe Birds Award,” says Naheed Nenshi, Mayor of Calgary. “Our approach focuses on accessible service and education that encourages responsible and accountable pet ownership. The result is a safe and healthy community for pets, and I’m proud of the work done by my colleagues at The City of Calgary to achieve this.”

The Safe Cats Safe Birds Award aims to raise the profile of Canadian municipalities and their leaders who, as stewards of their local environment, make an important contribution to bird conservation by adopting animal control bylaws that specifically address and humanely control cats and their threat to birds.

The Calgary bylaw requires both cat and dog owners to license their pets, and to keep animals from roaming at large. The bylaw is an important factor in Calgary’s success, but the strong public education campaign, the ‘I Heart My Pet’ rewards program and the promise to return licensed pets are motivation for pet owners, earning Calgary the highest compliance rates in the country.

For media comment please contact:
Eleanor Fast, Executive Director for Nature Canada
613-314-8713 (cell)
efast@naturecanada.ca

For media assistance please contact:
Janet Weichel McKenzie, Media Specialist for Nature Canada
613-808-4642 (cell)
jweichelmckenze@gmail.com

Download the press release.