The Harewood Plains area is too valuable to lose!
Here’s how you can help.
Hello NALT Members and Supporters,
Once again we are asking you to send a message to elected officials to bring about better protections for the Harewood Plains.
This time we are asking you to send the message to BC’s new Minister of Water, Lands, and Resource Stewardship, Randene Neill, to let them know how important protecting the Harewood Plains is to our community. We are also asking that you cc your message to MLA Sheila Malcolmson and MLA Stephanie Higginson (as Harewood Plains lies within both their ridings), and to shp@nalt.bc.ca so that we can track how many messages have been sent.
If you have time, sending an individual unique message will carry the most impact. We have some suggestions about elements to include below.
For those of you who would prefer to use a form letter, here is a template for a letter you may use:
To: WLRS.minister@gov.bc.ca
Cc: Sheila.Malcolmson.mla@leg.bc.ca; Stephanie.Higginson.MLA@leg.bc.ca; shp@nalt.bc.ca
Subject: Harewood Plains Needs Protection
Dear Minister Neill,
I am writing to you about a place in the Nanaimo area, the Harewood Plains, that requires your help to be protected.
Harewood Plains is a collection of Garry Oak Meadows, Coastal Douglas Fir stands, and vernal pools. The meadows, woods and pools are connected hydrologically and combine to create rare habitat conditions.
Harewood Plains is home to endangered species such as Hosackia pinnata, Nanaimo’s official flower. The unique features of the Plains, the seasonal flow of water and vernal pools, are critical habitat for the Hosackia pinnata and other endangered and rare species.
Protecting the Harewood Plains will require effort from all levels of government.
I am asking you to join with the community, the City of Nanaimo and other levels of government to acquire this land for conservation. The Harewood Plains area is too valuable to lose.
Thank you,
My Name
My Community (Nanaimo, or Cedar, etc.)
If you wish to send a unique message here are some suggestions about what to include. We are asking that you include these elements in your message but in your own words. The message does not need to be lengthy to have an impact.
In the subject line of the message it is important to mention Harewood Plains. You might write My concerns about the Harewood Plains or Harewood Plains must be protected for example.
In the body of your message it would be great to mention a personal connection to the Harewood Plains such as I love going there in the spring when the meadows are in full bloom; It is an amazing place to take pictures of birds, bees and other things too; or My grandmother used to take me for walks through the Plains when I was young.
It would also be useful to include ecological information such as it is an area of Garry Oak Meadows, Coastal Douglas Fir trees, and habitat for endangered species such as Nanaimo’s official floral emblem the Hosackia pinnata.
Including a call to action is also a key component of the message. We are asking the Minister to join a collaborative effort to acquire the Harewood Plains for protection of the critical habitat of endangered species that exist in this unique and beautiful place.
Thank you for taking action to protect the Harewood Plains.
Paul Chapman
Nanaimo & Area Land Trust
www.nalt.bc.ca
250-714-1990
I acknowledge with gratitude that NALT is located in the territory of the Snuneymuxw People.
Read More about Harewood Plains
