The Thunder Bay Field Naturalists Club is celebrating a huge donation to its local nature reserves.
About 200 acres of land in the William Bog has been left to the Club by the family of the late William and Olga Dawd.
The bog is located north of the Parkdale subdivision and west of the Thunder Bay Expressway, and is considered to be a unique, natural wetland.
The Field Naturalists Club had previously received seven small land donations in the William Bog totalling about 12 acres. Nature reserves chair Susan Bryan says these extra 200 acres means they can now control and preserve about one-quarter of that area.
Because the bog is a natural wetland, the group won't have to pay any taxes on it.
Bryan says it's a bit difficult to get to, and requires big boots or hip-waders. But she thinks it can be used for school field trips and other excursions.
And people from other regions will come as well, to see the wide variety of birds and plant life it contains.
Bryan says anyone else wanting to donate land can contact the Field Naturalists Club. They're a registered charity and income tax receipts will be provided to all donors.
(Thunder Bay Television)
