Don't be angry, but I bought you a caribou

Canada's top-ranked environmental charity offers eco-friendly holiday gifts

TORONTO, Nov. 1, 2012 /CNW/ - For those wanting to give presents with more meaning this holiday, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) offers gifts with a purpose, and in some cases, fur. Gifts of Canadian Nature is a charitable gift-giving program with real bang for the buck - both your dollar and the caribou! Gifts of Canadian Nature are pledges for habitat protection. Each gift protects critical habitat for native Canadian wildlife, and for you.

Ranging from $40 to $400, each Gift of Canadian Nature is accompanied by a personalized certificate for the recipient, and a 2012 NCC calendar. Featuring stunning scenes of conserved lands from across the country, the calendar is a beautiful reminder of the impact of your gift all year long.

Your gift will go far with NCC. Rated the top environmental charity in MoneySense's 2012 Charity 100 listing, NCC received an A+ for its fiscal responsibility - the only environmental charity to do so. When you buy a Gift of Canadian Nature, your money is well spent, and your gift makes a real difference in helping to protect Canada's wild spaces and wild species.

Whether your loved one prefers birds or bears, foxes or cats, there's a Gift of Canadian Nature for every person on your list this holiday. Visit www.giftsofnature.ca to order your gifts today. Nothing says 'best gift ever' like a bear! 

QUOTES:

"We know people want to give gifts that matter, and every year more and more people do," noted Teva Harrison, Manager, Supporter Development for the Nature Conservancy of Canada. "Gifts of Canadian Nature are great gifts that actually protect Canadian wildlife habitat. You can have so much fun gifting them: 'I was going to get you a book but you already have one. Here's a bear or an owl or a fox instead.' Who wouldn't love that?"

"NCC's Gifts of Canadian Nature program is great because it serves in two ways -- it helps NCC's work and I get to honour a friend or family member by giving it in their name. I choose people who are interested in wildlife and they know that I give these gifts from the heart." Russell M. Smith, PEI — NCC Monthly Protector.

FACTS:
About Gifts of Canadian Nature and NCC:

• This year there are six symbolic Gifts of Canadian Nature to choose from (see catalogue).
• The Gifts of Canadian Nature package, which includes a calendar, is printed in Canada using waterless printing with vegetable-based inks on 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper. This printing choice will help save 25 trees and more than 93,325 litres of water.
• NCC has been running a charitable gift giving program for almost 20 years.
• Eighty-five percent of all funds raised by NCC go directly to on-the-ground conservation work.
• For the third year in a row, NCC was the top-ranked environmental charity in MoneySense magazine's ranking of Canada's largest charities, receiving an A+ for our fiscal responsibility.

About the featured species:

• Caribou are the only members of the deer family where both males and females have antlers.
• The Canada lynx's large, well-furred paws act like snowshoes, allowing them to move easily through deep snow.
• Adult female snowy owls are larger than males with mottled black markings, while the males are almost pure white.
• Less than 10 percent of the range currently occupied by grizzly bears is classified as protected.
• The gray fox is the only canine in the western hemisphere that can climb trees.

About the Nature Conservancy of Canada:
Now celebrating its 50^th year, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is the nation's leading land conservation organization, working to protect our most important natural areas and the species they sustain. Since 1962 NCC and its partners have helped to protect more than 2.6 million acres (more than 1 million hectares), coast to coast. To learn more visit: www.natureconservancy.ca.

Image with caption: "Snowy Owl (photo by Chris Moncrieff) (CNW Group/Nature Conservancy of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121101_C3659_PHOTO_EN_19916.jpg

Image with caption: "Gray Fox (photo by John James Henderson) (CNW Group/Nature Conservancy of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121101_C3659_PHOTO_EN_19917.jpg

Image with caption: "Gifts of Canadian Nature catalogue (Snowy Owl photo by Chris Moncrieff) (CNW Group/Nature Conservancy of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121101_C3659_PHOTO_EN_19918.jpg

Image with caption: "Caribou (photo by Darren Colello) (CNW Group/Nature Conservancy of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121101_C3659_PHOTO_EN_19919.jpg

Image with caption: "Canada Lynx (photo by June Cairns) (CNW Group/Nature Conservancy of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121101_C3659_PHOTO_EN_19920.jpg

Image with caption: "Grizzly Bear (photo by Maurizio Bonora) (CNW Group/Nature Conservancy of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121101_C3659_PHOTO_EN_19921.jpg

Image with caption: "Crowsnest Pass, Alberta - one of the areas the Nature Conservancy of Canada is working to save wildlife habitat (photo by Rangeland Conservation Service) (CNW Group/Nature Conservancy of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121101_C3659_PHOTO_EN_19922.jpg

SOURCE: Nature Conservancy of Canada