Better Farming - December 2016

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Better Farming December 2016 Dig Deeper: 29
ALUS
to notice the environment around
them in a new way. They may, for
example, recognize a bird species that
might not have been on their land
before.
Farmers also find, Reid says, that
the projects make their farms “more
resilient to extreme climate changes.”
So farmers not only get the incentive
of income from ALUS, but also can get
monetary benefits from environmen-
tal stability.
As more farmers experience
positive results from the projects,
ALUS spreads. According to Cousin-
eau, ALUS Elgin has expanded. Word
of mouth is one of the keys to the
organization’s success.
Cousineau carefully notes that
many ALUS communities limit the
amount of a farmer’s land that ALUS
takes on. ALUS Elgin, for example, has
a “20 per cent rule of thumb.” ALUS in
Elgin will not occupy any more than
20 per cent of a farm’s arable acreage.
The rest, she comments, “stays in ag.”
ALUS does not desire to replace
farms with conservation projects;
instead, ALUS works with farmers to
integrate conservation projects into
their land and farm operations.
ALUS’s future goals
ALUS is now working to expand into
new communities and to diversify its
fundraising.
At the Royal Agricultural Winter
Fair, ALUS Canada and representa-
tives from the W. Garfield Weston
Foundation announced that ALUS will
not only expand into Nova Scotia, but
that the group will also begin rolling
out a new funding mechanism which
they call “The New Acre™ Project.”
According to a press release, The
New Acre Project “will allow individ-
uals and organizations to contribute
to the ALUS program and obtain
quantifiable environmental outcomes
in return.”
ALUS’s goal: to empower “ordinary
Canadians to make the difference
they want to see in the world.”
In other words, ALUS will encour-
age Canadians to sponsor ALUS
projects. This fundraising mechanism
will allow ALUS to continue growing
as an organization.
ALUS hopes that by the end of
2017 the organization will expand
from 18,000 acres dedicated to ALUS
projects nationally, to 25,000 acres.
ALUS in your community?
Because ALUS seeks to expand, it is
likely that farmers may consider
taking on an ALUS project in the
future.
Right now in Ontario, for example,
ALUS is laying the groundwork for
expansion into Peterborough and
Chatham-Kent.
ALUS, though, only comes to a
new community at the farmers’
request. If farmers would like to be
involved with the organization, and if
the organization’s goals are right for
them, all they have to do is ask. BF
Alyssa Cousineau of ALUS Elgin County describes the compass plant.
This native species now grows beside the redeveloped wetland. The
plant is so named because its leaves always face north and south.