TransCanada Celebrates Environment Week

Max's story

Helpless and vulnerable to predators after falling out of his nest near Selkirk, Manitoba, a three-month-old great horned owl later christened ‘Max’ was found and brought to the Wildlife Haven Rehabilitation Centre. “Max was not expected to live as he had a raging infection from the damage done to his ears,” said Wildlife Haven president Judy Robertson. While brought back to health at the Île-des-Chênes facility, scar tissue left in the owl’s eardrums inhibited his natural ability to hunt. Since owls hunt by sound and not by sight, Max could not be released back into the wild. Now nine years old, the owl was socialized and trained to be one of Wildlife Haven’s education ambassadors, travelling to schools and other events with his handler.

Hundreds of wildlife patients treated annually

Max owes his life to TransCanada’s environmental partner, which since 1984 has been rehabilitating injured, sick and orphaned wildlife like Max from Manitoba, Saskatchewan and northwestern Ontario. The charity takes in between 1,300 and 1,700 patients every year, ranging from bobcats to porcupines to beavers. TransCanada recently provided Wildlife Haven with a 50-year donation of 18 acres (7.3 hectares) of land next to the Canadian Mainline for their new expanded location, set to open in 2017. The company also helped Wildlife Haven kick off their $2.5 million capital fundraising campaign with a donation of $500,000. “With TransCanada’s support, Wildlife Haven will now be able to care for a larger number of injured, sick and orphaned wildlife with a greater number of successful releases back to the wild,” said Robertson. “Our partnership is a win for Manitoba and northwestern Ontario wildlife.”

Protecting birds, habitats and wild spaces

In 2015, TransCanada worked collaboratively with 67 other non-profit environmental organizations across North America — including the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) — to conserve important habitat, protect species at risk and educate individuals about the importance of the environment. “The true value of our partnership is in the direct protection of natural habitats and wild spaces across Canada,” said Steven Ross, NCC’s director of development. “Thanks to TransCanada’s support, countless migratory birds, native plants and wide-ranging carnivores continue to have the habitat they need.” Most recently, TransCanada partnered with NCC to protect 2,100 acres (848 hectares) of Atlantic salmon habitat in New Brunswick. And in 2014, TransCanada played an indirect role in NCC’s purchase of 30,535 acres (12,336 hectares) of natural lands in the rolling foothills on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Alberta. Watch the story unfold: YouTube Video: Uniting to conserve the Waldron Ranch Find out about some of our other recent partner-related environmental initiatives:

 

• Endangered baby turtles led out to sea
• Ontario children helping house endangered bats
• Connecting Canadians with the Trans Canada Trail
• Bringing birds and bats into focus
• Partnering to protect pollinators
• Adopting the Iron Belle Trail

Environment Week: June 5 to 10, 2016

TransCanada employees are celebrating the company’s wide breadth of partnerships during Environment Week (June 6 to 10). Hundreds of them are working to help protect the environment during the week by volunteering for various conservation activities with partner organizations. More than 1,500 employees participated in an Environment Week Speaker Series last year, an increase of 50 per cent over 2013, with each session filled to capacity within 24 hours of registration opening.

• Learn more about TransCanada’s collaborative environmental efforts in the community
• View TransCanada's 2014 Corporate Social Responsibility Report