{"id":629830,"date":"2026-04-26T13:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T13:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/629830\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T13:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T13:04:13","slug":"beloved-land-donated-to-protect-one-of-n-s-s-most-at-risk-species","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/629830\/","title":{"rendered":"Beloved land donated to protect one of N.S.\u2019s most at-risk species"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

A couple have donated their cabin and 12 hectares of land in Nova Scotia’s Lunenburg County to protect one of the province\u2019s most at-risk species: Blanding\u2019s turtles.<\/p>\n

Maggie Thomas and her husband, Richard Donat, who died late last month just days before the donation to the Nova Scotia Nature Trust was announced, lived next to Eds Island for over 50 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The peninsula is located in the region of the Pleasant River watershed, a wilderness area west of Bridgewater, N.S., that is home to endangered species like the eastern ribbonsnake and Blanding\u2019s turtle.<\/p>\n

Cottage development and road construction have edged the turtles out of their habitat. Thomas noticed how much the area changed during the years as cabins popped up around the island and a suburb sprouted up nearby.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we thought, well, \u2018We’ll protect this little bay,\u2019\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n

There are only approximately 500 adult Blanding\u2019s turtles left in Nova Scotia. The future of the reptile is uncertain as they have a hatchling survival rate of under one per cent.<\/p>\n

\"ARichard Donat and Maggie Thomas at their home directly across from Eds Island. (Submitted by Maggie Thomas)<\/p>\n

Thomas and Donat originally bought a small portion of land for their family to live on when the couple were involved in the film industry. Donat was an actor who starred in television shows such as Star Wars: Ewoks and Haven, while Thomas was involved in production.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The couple lived across from the peninsula for years, and they and their two sons swam in the surrounding Shingle Lake. The partners eventually bought a total of 12 hectares of land, which they donated to the Nova Scotia Nature Trust in hopes to preserve the peninsula.<\/p>\n

It took two years to finalize the donation. During that period, Donat battled illness and eventually died on March 28, at the age of 84, with Thomas by his side. The donation was announced four days later. Her partner\u2019s passing makes the protected area more special to Thomas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cAnd it’s even more now that my partner has passed away and it’s like a memorial to him now for the family anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donat enjoyed spending time in his garden while being a \u201cbeliever in the land,\u201d according to Thomas. One of their sons will now maintain the land they once looked after.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Incredible area\u2019<\/p>\n

Although Thomas knew Blanding\u2019s turtles were rare and under protection, she\u2019s never actually seen one.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re sneaky,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n

The family\u2019s donation will add to the turtle\u2019s living area, which has been mapped as a critical habitat by the nature trust group.<\/p>\n

Jaimee Morozoff, the director of conservation for Nova Scotia Nature Trust, said Thomas and Donat\u2019s contribution is important because the land lies inside the critical habitat area.<\/p>\n

She said the turtles rely on getting their food in lakeshore locations, which are more present in this region.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to let nature thrive. We want to protect it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

MORE TOP STORIES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":629831,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[49,48,75],"class_list":["post-629830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/629831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}