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Troop Island Protected, Forever
October 5th, 2012
The tally is in and we’re thrilled to confirm that 28 acres of Troop Island will be purchased today and held in trust forever.
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St. Margaret’s Bay, NS (Friday October 5, 2012)—The tally is in and we’re thrilled to confirm that 28 acres of Troop Island will be purchased today and held in trust forever. We reached the $820,000 goal this morning, and know that more pledges and donations will arrive throughout the next couple of days. Any funds over the goal will be added to the endowment for the stewardship of the island.
With little over a month to pull the community campaign and remaining funds together since securing a last-minute option to buy the island, the stakes were high and the goal was ambitious to say the least. Yet the support has been overwhelming, which speaks to the deep desire Nova Scotians have for protecting our coastline and special natural places.
Troop Island in particular has touched people not only for its beautiful beaches and shoreline vistas, but also for the rare and varied natural features. The old growth forest, intertidal marsh lands, bird life and freshwater pond represents a variety of ecosystems that are becoming more precious to people of every age. We’ve heard from people young and old, locals and people who’ve never even seen the island, all passionate about protecting special places like Troop Island. Our
youngest “Troopers,” Nathaniel and Phoebe McLaren, donated all the money in their pockets to “help Theodore Tugboat save the island!” Local businesses, community groups and families stepped up, and people reached out to friends and family and to contacts through social media, urging everyone to be a part of this legacy too. It has been incredible seeing how far and how fast word has spread and support has come pouring in. We even heard from decedents of the original Troupe family for whom the island was named, and they are thrilled that it will be protected for future generations.
The St. Margaret’s Bay Stewardship Association and the Nova Scotia Nature Trust would like to thank everyone for their very generous contributions of time and money which have helped to preserve a unique piece of Nova Scotia’s coastal legacy. We hope this passion and energy will continue as we work together with the local community to steward this and other protected islands in the bay. We hope too, that the incredible momentum that built around this campaign will continue to build towards protecting other coastal lands and islands in the bay and across the province.
For those still wishing to be a part of the Troop Island campaign, donations continue to be welcome. Additional donations will help to build a stewardship endowment fund for Troop Island, providing critical funds to steward and protect the island, in perpetuity.
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