Our Approach

The W. Garfield Weston Foundation is a leader in private land conservation in Canada. 

We are proud to have conserved more than 100,000 acres of ecologically significant land from coast to coast.

Our conservation work is based on a foundation of the best available science and includes a constant search for advanced stewardship techniques. The Foundation contributions are helping to ensure the long term viability of important landscapes.

The Weston family is proud of its significant role in preserving Canada’s natural legacy. Our work in land conservation demonstrates what private individuals, family foundations, and non-governmental organizations can achieve.

Goal: To protect critical habitats and the endangered species which call them home.

Strategies:

• Acquiring ecologically significant land.

• Ensuring proper stewardship of these acquired lands.

• Promoting and supporting outreach and education initiatives that will have a positive impact on these acquired lands.

Since the early 1980's, The W. Garfield Weston Foundation has been a strong supporter of conservation organizations contributing to land securement, stewardship and education projects across Canada. 

In partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, support for high-level Canadian scientists and graduate students has allowed for the creation of a digital public library of stewardship and planning materials which have informed many conservation actions. These, along with the completion of conservation blueprints, help to set conservation priorities from coast to coast.

The Foundation works with the Nature Conservancy of Canada to raise awareness of the importance of ecologically significant land through interpretation and outreach initiatives. For example, visitors are engaged at the Weston Family Conservation Centre at Waterton Park Front, Alberta. School groups from the Helen Schuler Nature Centre in Lethbridge travel to Waterton to participate in an outdoor experience that increases awareness and appreciation for species and plants native to Southern Alberta. The Foundation’s leadership support of the Waterton Park Front has resulted in the protection of over 35,000 acres – one of the largest private conservation efforts in Canada.  

Other achievements include work at the Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area in southwest Saskatchewan, and 20 km of walking trails at Musquash Estuary in New Brunswick. To date more than 15,000 students have participated in the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie studies program.

The Weston Environmental Leaders of Tomorrow program is an initiative that enables the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority to take inner city children on an overnight trip to a local conservation area.

By combining the residential field centre visit with in-school programming, a groundbreaking format for environmental programs has emerged. Lessons and activities that were designed for one field centre have now been adopted by other regions.  The “Weston Model” has emerged as a vehicle for enabling students to experience nature and then take responsibility in their own communities for sustainable practices. As one Grade 6 student stated, “We have changed our habits!” 

The W. Garfield Weston Foundation helps to preserve landscapes that inspire and inform.