Habitat for Habitat Project a First

Louise Belanger and Laurie Renton (Habitat for Humanity Yorkton) with Trevor Plews (DUC) at Goodeve site.

 You may wonder what ducks have to do with affordable housing, but the answer lies in “habitat”.

With support from Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) and others this spring, Habitat for Humanity - Yorkton will embark on a unique community growing project that will help raise funds to build affordable housing while supporting the development of habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife.

Dubbed the “Habitat for Habitat” project, this community-growing initiative will occur on a 170 acre parcel of land in the Goodeve area recently acquired by DUC for upland restoration. For Trevor Plews, DUC’s head of upland restoration in Saskatchewan, this project fits with DUC’s efforts to retain and restore upland habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife.

“We purchased the Goodeve property in 2008 as part of our upland restoration program. Under this program we may farm or chem-fallow newly acquired land for the first year to get rid of any weeds and prepare it for seeding to perennial cover in the following year – and this takes time and resources, ” says Plews.

But in this case, DUC offered the use of the land to Habitat for Humanity who has made arrangements with a local farmer to seed, spray and harvest a canola crop during the 2009 growing season. Habitat for Humanity is also in the process of appealing to local agri-business partners to supply the crop inputs including canola seed, herbicide, fertilizer, fuel and any other supplies needed to grow a successful crop. Net proceeds from the sale of the crop will be used to build homes for low income families and ensure communities have safe, decent, affordable housing options in Yorkton and surrounding rural communities.

As a not-for-profit organization, DUC knows all too well the challenges of raising funds and managing costs. “This initiative is a win-win for both organizations,” says Plews. “We keep our maintenance costs down on land we have secured for habitat, and Habitat for Humanity raises funds to support their housing projects in the community.”