Human Health and Well-being

In conducting the interviews for the preparation of this report, land conservation organizations frequently noted higher numbers of visitors to properties with public access. This observation reinforces their role in protecting and conserving natural areas for the physical and mental health and well-being of Canadians. These higher visitation rates highlight the need to increase capacity of private land conservation organizations to maintain the ecological integrity of these areas and manage the natural and built assets from a visitor experience perspective, such as providing parking, trail access and as a good neighbour of adjacent landowners. This has emerged as an area of activity needing specialized attention by staff or volunteers with a specific skillset.