Van De Pitte family donates land to Nature Conservancy of Canada [Video]

This giving season, one Edmonton family is going big.

The Van De Pitte family has gifted 596 acres of land to the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). 

The parcel, known as the Great Gray Wildland, is located about 100 kilometres north of Edmonton. It was bought in 1971 by Margaret Van De Pitte and her late husband Frederick Van De Pitte as a place to unwind.

“On a slippery spring day, my husband and I sought a piece of wilderness to escape the city. We followed bear tracks to an old cabin, venturing deeper into the forest to lose ourselves. It was just the place for us,” Margaret said in a press release.

“Pristine and teeming with life, from microbes to elk and bears, it also boasts stunning views of wonders like frequent northern lights and the Milky Way … We’re grateful this world of bogs, fens, and self-sustaining forest will endure, thanks to The Nature Conservancy of Canada.”

The land hosts wetlands and …