Highlights of our
SUCCESSES
2014-15
your connection to
wild life
PENNY SLACK
CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca
CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca
i
Highlights of our
SUCCESSES
2014-15
THINKSTOCK
CWF
NAMED
ONE OF THE
TOP 25
CHARITIES IN
CANADA
Through strong
financial management,
strategically focused
programs and initiatives,
and clear and
transparent reporting,
we continue to be
responsible stewards of
our donors’ contributions.
In a country with over
86,000 charities, we
are extremely proud to
have been recognized
as one of the top 25
charities in Canada,
meeting standards set
by Charity Intelligence
and the Financial Post.
Message from
LLOYD LINTOTT x President of the Board of Directors and
WADE LUZNY x CEO/ Executive Vice-President
We are proud of our 53 year history of making important advances in wildlife conservation
and education and for being a balanced and dependable voice for wildlife conservation in
Canada. This year has been a significantly strong year for CWF:
The Financial Post and Charity Intelligence recognized CWF as one of the top 25
charities in Canada for standards in transparency, accountability and efficiency.
Our programs have achieved big successes.
More people, from corporate boardrooms to families across Canada, are joining
us to help conserve wildlife and connect with nature.
As an organization, science guides our program development and
delivery and is a key pillar of our positions on conservation issues. CWF
continues to be a leader, bringing together a broad cross section of
individuals and organizations, from government to industry stakeholders
and corporate leaders, to individual people across Canada to work
together for wildlife. This collaborative model has been a signature
approach for CWF and has made us a sought-after expert advisor on
wildlife conservation issues in Canada.
CWF boasts a true national presence. Our Board of Directors come
from coast to coast and bring regional conservation perspectives to the
table which help to form decisions and solutions that affect wildlife across
Canada. Our staff presence across the country contributes to our regional
program delivery capacity and impact. We are broadening our outreach
to new audiences and have added multi-lingual resources starting with
Arabic, Chinese, Spanish and Punjabi.
This past year, we have continued to make great strides, engaging more
partners and people in our conservation, education, awareness and
outreach programs. We know that this is the result of a great team effort
and would not be possible without the generous support from our donors
and partners. We are truly grateful for the trust you instill in us and we
sincerely appreciate the contributions of everyone who helps us to ensure
that the spirit of conservation is alive and well in Canada.
LLOYD LINTOTT
President of the
Board of Directors
WADE LUZNY
CEO/ Executive Vice-President
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CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca
THINKSTOCK
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Connecting Canadians to
NATURE
KELLY MCCONNELL
CWF’s mission
is to conserve and inspire the
conservation of Canada’s
wildlife and habitats for the
use and enjoyment of all by:
Connecting people
with nature
Since 1962, Canadians have been looking to the
Canadian Wildlife Federation to be their connection to
wildlife. Through our publications, website, public service
announcements and public engagement activities, we
bring wildlife into the lives of people across the country
and share with them the awe and wonder of nature.
CWF is the Canadian leader in conservation
education. Education is a core component of
conserving wildlife for future generations.
Because CWF Education programs promote conservation
values, inform thought processes and inspire positive
behaviors, we integrate knowledge with activity and
reflection. Wherever possible we educate in natural
settings and through our programs strive to increase
opportunities for Canadians to connect with iconic
species and natural habitat of Canada. Through
our award-winning programs, we have trained over
100,000 educators who in turn have reached countless
numbers of students over the years. In 2014-15, CWF
dramatically expanded its educations activities. We are
now building on our solid foundation with new programs
delivered directly to youth, community members and
families. This complementary approach has generated
exciting early results.
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CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca
Maintaining healthy
wildlife populations
Conserving and
restoring habitat
There are so many ways you
can help keep Canada wild.
We invite you to visit us and
find out how you can join in.
CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca
SIM O
NB
O
LYN
Citizen Science
CWF has taken a leadership role in strengthening
citizen science by creating Canadian versions of
well-established citizen science tools and working with
partners to create opportunities for the public to take part
in citizen science activities.
With our partners, CWF is working to create
BioBlitz Canada, a national network to promote
public events where citizens and wildlife specialists
work together to inventory an area’s biodiversity. T HI N
KS T
OC
K
The CWF apps below can be downloaded from
App stores or CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca.
iNaturalist App
Record your nature observations
and contribute to wildlife citizen
science while learning about
Canada’s biodiversity.
Putting At-Risk
Wildlife Migration
ON THE MAP
LeafSnap App
Using a photo of a leaf taken
with a smartphone, this high
quality guide to trees helps you
identify the species and adds it
to a database of tree locations
across North America.
Education is one of the most important tools in CWF’s work
to promote conservation. The Wild Migrations map is an
impressive step towards fun learning about two subjects that
CWF deeply cares about – wildlife migration and species
at risk. Three giant floor maps, measuring roughly the size
of a school gymnasium, were created in partnership with
Canadian Geographic and are touring across Canada.
The map of North, Central and South America showcases
20 currently at-risk species, most of which are part of
CWF’s conservation efforts such as barren-ground caribou,
monarch butterflies, leatherback sea turtles, Atlantic right
whales, and American eels.
Educators and students kick off their shoes to retrace
migratory paths and get engaged in migration related
activities. This unique experience allows kids to discover the
incredible distances these animals travel and inspires them
to learn more about how they can help conserve wildlife.
Although we only rolled out the map recently, over 12,000
students have already explored the map and there is a
waiting list of schools eager to take part.
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Annual Highlights
CWF’s website received over
3 million webpage views
Our Public Service Announcements aired
22,000 times
CWF’s Videos and webinars were viewed
on YouTube
143,000 times
CWF events and awareness campaigns
like Walk for Wildlife, the Great Canadian
Campout and Help the Bats engaged over
20,000 participants
55,000 people
followed CWF through social media
THINKSTOCK
1,013 educators
were trained in WILD Education
ALISHA FRIDLAND
JEANNINE ST-AMOUR
12,842 students
learned
about migratory journeys of at-risk species
through our WILD Migration Program
3,166 families have already
joined our newly launched WILD Family Nature
Clubs, which provide urban parents and their
children with social activities and tools to get
them outside playing together in nature
CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca
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CWF’s strategic priorities are
to maintain healthy wildlife
populations as well as conserve
and restore wildlife habitat.
Here are examples of some of
our successes last year.
THINKSTOCK
Healthy Wildlife
POPULATIONS AND HABITAT
Freshwater and Marine Conservation
TED BUSBY
CWF’s goal is protect and enhance our lakes and rivers for Canadians to
enjoy and for the fish and wildlife that call them home. We are similarly
leading the way on helping large marine wildlife through actions such
as creating a national marine animal emergency response alliance
and leading science work to determine risks and reduce the threat of
entanglement in fishing gear to marine animals in Canadian waters.
In 2014-15, CWF:
Assessed over 5,100 shorelines as
part of the Love Your Lake shoreline
stewardship program
CLAUDE ROBIDOUX
DEREK BISSELL
Led a cross-Canada NGO review of
the new Fisheries Act and Fisheries
Habitat Protection Program resulting in
significant improvements to fish habitat
protection and highlighting remaining
challenges to protecting habitat in our
lakes and rivers
Presented research recommendations
to mitigate risks to right whales in
Canada to all Atlantic and Quebec
Fisheries Managers
Canadian Marine Animal Response
Alliance regional partners responded to
460 marine incidents in the past year
CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca
BERT DE TILLY
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Species At Risk
As an historic force and a national leader in advancing the
protection and recovery of species at risk and their habitat,
CWF focuses on strengthening the Species at Risk Act,
conducting on the ground projects to reduce threats and
protect habitat for species at risk and improving tools available
to landowners to protect species.
Our on-the-ground work gained the attention of the public,
media, government and industry:
WESLEY PITTS
In partnership with Scales Nature Park in Muskoka, CWF
ran the largest freshwater turtle conservation project in
Canada, focusing on working with the public to protect
wetlands, increasing knowledge about at-risk turtles and
reducing vehicle collisions.
We expanded the American eel recovery program to a
large scale study of juvenile eel migration in the Ottawa
River in partnership with provincial governments and
Hydro producers to address fish passage issues.
CWF developed a habitat suitability assessment tool to
identify key habitat for at-risk grassland songbirds.
We successfully confirmed populations of three cryptic
species at risk that are inherently difficult to locate and
identify. Knowing where the species are residing is the first
step to ensuring proper protection and habitat.
CWF
CWF
Our wildlife conservation work is always complemented
by education and public awareness initiatives such as our
Hinterland Who’s Who series, the Wild Migrations giant floor
map and WILD Spaces for Monarchs school program.
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Sometimes, Even Bats Need a
SUPERHERO!
That was the slogan for our 2014 Help the Bats campaign when CWF called on our
supporters and Canadians to work with us to raise awareness and funds to combat
white-nose syndrome and its devastating effects on bat populations. CWF scientist Karen
Vanderwolf has been working with Dr. Don McAlpine, from the New Brunswick Museum,
researching bats infected with white-nose syndrome. The disease is caused by a fungus
that makes the bats wake more frequently during hibernation, using up critical energy and
fat reserves, and ultimately leading them to freeze to death. White-nose syndrome, which
has spread through eastern North America, is ravaging populations of the little brown bat,
northern myotis and tri-coloured bat.
In 2013, over 2,000 supporters joined with CWF to urge the government to list
these three species of bats under the Species at Risk Act.
In December 2014, the bats were listed under SARA, providing them with legal
protection on Federal lands and requiring that a recovery strategy be put in place.
CWF’s 2014 winter bat surveys in New Brunswick found only 12 bats compared
to previous population numbers of approximately 7,000.
Schools, community groups and the public participated in the CWF bat
metimes,
even bats
Visit HelptheBats.ca
for more need a
UPERHERO
information on Canada’s bats
and how you can help.
program by installing bat boxes on local properties and tracking their activity at
HelptheBats.ca.
Scientists at the University of Santa Cruz discovered that some of the bacteria
naturally found on some bats are antagonistic to the fungus and are currently
testing to see if treating bats with the resilient bacteria can protect them from
white-nose syndrome.
Finances
a’s bat populations are being decimated by a disease called White
2014-15 ANNUAL REVIEW
ndrome. Species such as the Little Brown Bat could be extinct
than 20 years if action is not taken. Please join forces with the
n Wildlife Federation and fight the demise of the bat! Learn how to get
, get great Halloween ideas and donate now at HelpTheBats.ca.
CWF completed the 2014-15 fiscal year with
a surplus of $195,000, and, once again,
received an unqualified audit. CWF efficiency
ratios were well within guidelines of the
Canada Revenue Agency.
Investments in charitable programs were
$12.7 million. This investment was used to
strengthen programming in areas of education,
habitat stewardship, endangered species,
freshwater/marine conservation and others.
NICOLA JONES
8% Administration Expenses
22% Fundraising expenses
BONNIE GRZESIAK
70% Charitable Programs
BILL MCMULLEN
MIRCEA COSTINA
CLAUDE ROBIDOUX
Looking to the FUTURE
Canadians love CWF’s newest programs like WILD Family Nature Club, WILD
Migration, WILD Spaces for Monarchs and Love Your Lake! CWF will continue to expand
the reach of these popular programs.
CWF’s 2nd Great Canadian Turtle Race provides the opportunity for the Canadian public
and schools to connect with critically endangered leatherback turtles. Pick your favourite
contender to track, as these majestic creatures ‘race’ towards their southern habitat, while
also learning more about the numerous threats they face along the way. Keep an eye out
for the launch in November 2015.
Save the Date! April 14, 2016, the Canadian Wildlife Foundation hosts its second
annual Goose Gala in support of CWF wildlife conservation programs. Featuring a
headline performance by Tony and Emmy Award winning comedy superstar Martin Short
and MC’d by iconic Canadian sports broadcaster Brian Williams O.C. Get details and
tickets at GooseGala.org.
In 2017, as Canada celebrates its 150th birthday, CWF will be making great strides in a
creating a positive future for wildlife conservation:
»» CWF has been at the forefront of wildlife-related conservation education for over
50 years. Working with the largest international children and nature program, in
April 2017, CWF will convene the best thinkers in the world to shape the future of
conservation education.
»» Building on our tradition of being a balanced voice for wildlife, in September 2017,
CWF will be hosting the 2nd National Conservation Congress. Representatives of
diverse perspectives and interests on wildlife such as, environmental groups, First
Nations, hunting and angling organizations, academia, industry and government will
come together to address the challenges and priorities of the 21st century, making
practical concrete progress on core wildlife issues across all groups.
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CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca
350 Michael Cowpland Drive, Kanata, ON
K2M 2W1
T 613.599.9594 ❘ F 613.599.4428 ❘ CanadianWildlifeFoundation.org
Highlights of our
SUCCESSES
2014-15
CanadianWildlifeFoundation.ca
in support of
CANADIAN WILDLIFE
F E DE R AT I O N
TED BUSBY
CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca
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Highlights of our
SUCCESSES
2014-15
CORINNE POMERLEAU
Board of Trustees
Canadian Wildlife Foundation
The Canadian Wildlife Foundation is a national not-for-profit charitable foundation
dedicated to supporting the programs, projects and initiatives of the Canadian
Wildlife Federation through special events, sponsorships, donations and major
gifts. The Foundation also manages a number of endowments targeted at
conservation education and research taking place across the country. Recently,
the Foundation brought new investments of over $1M to Federation programs.
Dr. J. Bernard Gosevitz
Pat Doyle
Foundation Chair
Foundation President
Raising Funds and Awareness:
Rivers to Oceans Evening
Brian Williams O.C.
TSN Broadcaster
The Foundation held its inaugural event,
Rivers to Oceans Evening, in May, 2014.
Guests learned about Canada’s waters and
our responsibility to conserve these precious
resources from key note speaker and CWF
Director of Conservation, Dr. David Browne.
Hosted by its chair, Dr. J. Bernard Gosevitz,
the evening also featured inspiring words from
the Honourable David Onley, then Lieutenant
Governor of Ontario. TSN Broadcaster Brian
Williams served as the Master of Ceremonies.
Dr. David Browne
CWF Director of
Conservation Science
Bob Barton
Brad Leyte
Trustee
Treasurer
Retired Chief Justice of Ontario Warren Winkler Q.C.
Trustee
Goose Gala
The Canadian Wildlife Foundation
would like to thank everyone who
helped make our inaugural Goose
Gala a sold-out success – raising
more than a quarter million dollars
for the spaces and species of
Canada. Guests attending the event
on April 9, 2015 were treated to
an incredible night of entertainment,
featuring MC Brent Butt and special
guest, multi-platinum singer-songwriter
Johnny Reid. Save the date for next
year’s Gala on April 14, 2016.
Top: Johnny Reid, Musician; Wade Luzny, CWF CEO/ Executive
Vice-President; John Tory, Mayor of Toronto; Brent Butt, Actor/
Comedian; Dr. J. Bernard Gosevitz, Foundation Chair.
Rick Brace
Trustee
Lloyd Lintott
Trustee
Roland Michaud
Trustee
Wade Luzny
Executive Secretary
Left: Johnny Reid, Musician Right: Brent Butt, Comedian/Actor
CanadianWildlifeFoundation.ca
CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca
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Foundation Funding
In addition to supporting Federation programs,
the Canadian Wildlife Foundation also accepts
applications for financial assistance to conservation
and educational programs. The Orville Erickson
scholarship, in memory of prominent Canadian
conservationist and past CWF president, is
awarded annually to post-secondary students in
the field of conservation. For more information, visit
CanadianWildlifeFoundation.ca.
Funded Projects:
Love Your Lake program
CWF and Watersheds Canada
▲ Blanding’s Hatchling x Photo by Kelsey Bedard
One of the 74 Blanding’s turtles that were successfully incubated in captivity and
released as hatchlings back into the wild by the START Muskoka Turtle Project this year.
START Muskoka Turtle project
CWF and Scales Nature Park
Impact of genetic factors in the St. Lawrence Beluga
St. Mary’s University, Nova Scotia
Making a difference
Manitoba Burrowing Owl Recovery Program
Assiniboine Park Conservancy, Manitoba
Garden Lots Salt Marsh
Support provided by the Canadian Wildlife Foundation has allowed
the Canadian Wildlife Federation to springboard programs to new
heights, exceeding anticipated successes for Canada’s wildlife.
Bluenose Coastal Action Foundation,
Nova Scotia
Great Canadian Schoolyard Bird Blitz!
Bird Studies Canada, Ontario
Love Your Lake
Orville Erickson scholarships
Healthy Shorelines for Healthy Lakes
Manitoba Burrowing Owl
Recovery Program
Healthy shorelines are essential to maintaining the overall health of our lakes. Love
Your Lake is a shoreline stewardship program that provides property owners with an
assessment of their property and resources to help improve the health of their shoreline
and their lake. The program was developed by CWF and Watersheds Canada, who
work with regional partners and lake organizations to deliver locally.
A LK
W
ER
For more information on the Love Your Lake program
and how you can take part, visit LoveYourLake.ca.
AR
N
In 2014-15, over 5,100 shoreline properties
were assessed on 17 Ontario lakes for a 2-year
total of over 9,600 properties assessed on 34
Ontario lakes.
SH
O
Funding provided by the Foundation has allowed
the program to grow from a pilot project to being
recognized as the most successful lake shoreline
stewardship program in Ontario with plans to expand
next year into Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
The Manitoba Burrowing Owl Recovery Program
was formed to foster public awareness about
Burrowing Owls and establish an overall recovery
program for the species in the province. Through
funding from the Canadian Wildlife Foundation, a
project was undertaken to address knowledge gaps
surrounding Burrowing Owl habitat requirements.
The long term goal of this study is to reestablish
a self-sustaining Burrowing Owl population in
Manitoba. The Western Burrowing Owl was
the symbolic mascot for the 2014 CWF Walk
for Wildlife and provided a spotlight to raise
awareness about this very unique grassland owl.
S.T.A.R.T
Saving Turtles At Risk Today Muskoka Turtle Project
Freshwater turtles are in decline throughout Canada. There are six species of
turtles in Muskoka, and five of them are listed as species at risk in Ontario.
Threats to turtle populations include road mortality, predators, poaching, and
habitat loss.
in captivity and the hatchlings released back into the wild –
including 74 Blanding’s turtles, a threatened species. These
hatchlings were returned to where their nests were found, in
the hopes that they will help replenish turtle numbers.
Thanks to a grant from the Rogers Family and support from the Canadian
Wildlife Foundation, the Canadian Wildlife Federation partnered with Scales
Nature Park to form “S.T.A.R.T” Saving Turtles At Risk Today project that targets
all six turtle species in the Muskoka region.
In 2014, a new Turtle Hotline number was introduced for the
public to call or text if they encounter rare, nesting, or injured
turtles in Muskoka. This strong community engagement,
central to the project, led to new turtle locations, new nest
sites and reporting of injured turtles. By engaging local
residents, through events and activities, CWF was able to
foster greater community ability to protect turtles. Given that
many of the turtles saved were females, this outreach will
have an enormous benefit to local turtle populations.
In 2014, 524 turtles were marked with shell notches to allow for long term study.
Thirty turtles received radio transmitters used to determine locations of important
nesting and hibernation areas and road crossing hotspots. This data will help to
develop a long-term protection plan for the region’s turtles.
They also rescued turtle eggs from nests that had been disturbed by predators or
were perilously located. A total of 345 turtle eggs were successfully incubated
CanadianWildlifeFoundation.ca
CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca
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Adventure Canada x Algonquins of Ontario x Arnprior Fish and Game Club x Association Maritime du Québec x Barrick Gold x
Bassett Events x Bell Media x Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds x BMO Bank of Montreal x Brian Williams, O.C. x British Columbia
Marine Mammal Response Network x Broad Reach Foundation x Bruce and Yvonne Mackay x Canadian Geographic x Canadian
Sea Turtle Network x CDS Global x Championnat Régional de Yachting de Québec x Children & Nature Network x City of
Sudbury x Coalition of Haliburton Property Owners Association x Colin Watson x Crabtree Foundation x Dalhousie University x
Douglas Bassett O.C., O. Ont. x Dr. Bernie Gosevitz x Écovoile Baie-des-chaleurs x Environment Canada x Firefly Books x Fisheries
and Oceans Canada x Format Films x Four Seasons Hotel Toronto x Gareth Seltzer x Georgian Bay Lakes Association x Gore
Mutual Insurance x Groupe de recherché et d’éducation sur les mammifères marins x Honourable Warren K. Winkler, Q.C. x
thank you
A heartfelt
We would like to say a special thank you to all our donors,
supporters, volunteers as well as corporate and program
partners for choosing to work with CWF and our Foundation
to ensure that wildlife and nature remain core to our Canadian
identity. Together, we are making a difference for Canada’s
wildlife and habitats for future generations.
Hummingbird Hill x Innovaire x Johnson Insurance x Jonas Prince x Julian Parkinson x Just Energy x Kiehl’s x Labatt’s Breweries x Lee
Valley Tools x Loretta Rogers x Magris Resources x Marine Animal Response Society x Maritime Marine Animal Response Network
x Martha Rogers x Michael Daniher x Montréal Science Centre x Muskoka Watershed Council x Nada and Jonathan Blair x
National Post x Nepean Sailing Club x New Brunswick Museum x Newfoundland and Labrador Whale Release and Strandings
Group x Old Port of Montréal x OMNI Television x Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry x Ottawa River Keepers
x Outdoor Council of Canada x Outward Bound x Paddle Canada x Parks Canada x Phil Lind x Port Sandfield Marina x Prairie
Pulp and Paper x Réseau Québécois d’urgences pour les mammifères marins x Rick Brace x Rogers Communications x Rogers
Foundation x Rogers Media x Royal Canadian Geographic Society x SAIL x Sail Canada x Sail Nova Scotia x Sailors for the Sea
x Scales Nature Park x Scotiabank x Scouts Canada x Shell Fuelling Change x Smithsonian Institute x Step Forward Paper x Taking
It Global x TD Friends of the Environment x TD MBNA x The Donald F. Hunter Charitable Foundation x Toby Hull x Tom MacMillan
x TSN x Trico Evolution x Veritiv x Voile Mercator x Watersheds Canada x Willowbrook Nurseries x Yannick Bigourdan x YMCA-
YWCA x All school boards, youth agencies, zoos, aquariums, natural history museums that use our programs x Canadian
broadcast community for supporting CWF public awareness programs
Special Thanks to the Rogers Family
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Thanks to their tremendous generosity, Canadian Wildlife
Federation programs are making a difference for turtles in the
Muskokas, lakes in Canada, and seaturtles in our oceans.
CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca
SHARON WALKER
Canadian Wildlife Federation
350 Michael Cowpland Drive
Kanata, ON K2M 2W1
T 1.800.563.9453
Canadian Wildlife Foundation
350 Michael Cowpland Drive
Kanata, ON K2M 2W1
T 613.599.9594
CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca
CanadianWildlifeFoundation.org