Contacts:
Rob Meijer, (204) 947-6370
Sherry Feser, (780) 489-2002, s_feser@ducks.ca
Cargill Valuing Habitat Conservation Activities
HIGH RIVER, AB – Local habitat conservation efforts get a boost from Cargill with a $250,000 donation to Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC). The funds will be used to enhance monitoring and recording waterfowl populations and migration activities. In addition the funding will help Frank Lake in High River enhance environmental education programs for school children throughout the province.
“Cargill highly values the tremendous work by Ducks Unlimited Canada in the protection, stabilization and revitalization of our sensitive and vital habitat and wildlife,” said Cargill Meat Solutions, General Manager Brian Derksen. “We are thankful to have the opportunity to give back to nature by supporting conservation and education in partnership with this leading organization.”
As Canada’s Conservation Company, Ducks Unlimited Canada has been conserving wetlands and associated habitats for more than 67 years. In Alberta, DUC has conserved and restored more than 2,200,000 acres of habitat, enhancing the province’s biodiversity. Wetlands are a valuable resource that provide a wide variety of benefits including; water quality and supply, biodiversity, flood control, sediment and pollution filtration, drought buffering and economic, recreational, cultural and aesthetic benefits.
“The support of organizations such as Cargill helps DUC to conserve these important natural resources,” says DUC’s Manager of Business Development, Rick Harland. “In Canada, as much as 70 per cent of wetlands have disappeared in settled areas. We need to work hard to conserve these critical wetland habitats or we’ll continue to lose them.”
Since 1989, Cargill has been a supporter of DUC in the community of High River, Alberta. As part of the sewage treatment plan for its beef processing operation, the company worked closely with DUC to establish the Frank Lake Wetlands Project. Through the project, sewage from the plant is treated to tertiary levels and then used to rehabilitate a dry lake. In addition to the benefits of rehabilitating Frank Lake for the ecosystem and waterfowl, the Highwood River has also benefited from reduced effluent being diverted into its waters.
Headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Cargill Limited employs 9,000 people across the country and has business interests in meat, egg and oilseed processing, animal nutrition and services, salt, chocolate, natural gas, as well as grain handling and merchandising. For more information, visit http://www.cargill.ca or http://www.ducks.ca.