Intervale Completes First Year for Conservation, Rural Development

January 2004 - Intervale Conservation and Heritage Associates completed a remarkable first year, in which accomplishments for conservation and rural communities exceeded our expectations. The leadership team at Intervale wishes to say thank-you to the many friends who helped us this first year.

In November 2002, a small group of people joined together with a common purpose: to help rural communities meet their objectives for conservation and rural development. Called Intervale, the group takes its name from a heritage word used by rural people in the Atlantic Provinces and New England to describe a low meadow, by a river, that naturally produces hay in abundance. It's a place people value greatly.

Intervale's mission is to conserve biodiversity, interpret heritage, and protect the integrity of rural livelihoods. The foundation of our work is our common belief in the ability of people in rural communities to define their own objectives for conservation and rural development, so as to ensure a safe and healthy environment for their children and future generations. We assist people to achieve and sustain their objectives, using strategies that promote individual potential, community solidarity, and ecosystem support.

During the first twelve months of operation, and continuing into this year, Intervale Associates has been assisting more than a dozen clients and partners with important projects for conservation and rural development. For example, we are helping fish harvesters, union members, and the Government of Canada in the recovery of two threatened species of marine fish-in the process, also helping to lay the groundwork for recovery strategies for Atlantic Cod. In addition, we are assisting communities of Labrador find a solution to wastewater treatment through natural systems relying on sphagnum peat moss. We are also helping the 15 communities of the Quebec Lower North Shore implement a multi-year tourism strategy to boost the local economy of this beautiful and still remote region.

In all of our work to date, we strive to make conservation meaningful and beneficial to the people whose lives depend on the resources being conserved.

For further information: info@intervale.ca

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