Western P.E.I. family donates 32 hectares to Island Nature Trust in honour of their parents

A family has donated 32 hectares of land to the Island Nature Trust to protect it from development and preserve the ecological environment.

The land has belonged to members of the same extended family for 125 years. It's located in Days Corner, just east of Wellington in western P.E.I., along the Ellis River.

The donation is being in honour of Edd and Ruby McNeill, who bought it from a relative in the 1970s.

David McNeill, one of their sons, said his parents dedicated their lives to him and his siblings, and now, they're dedicating the land to them.

"One person asked me, 'Why didn't you sell it?' And I said, 'Well, we'd sell it, and their legacy is gone,'" he told CBC's Island Morning. "It's a valuable piece of land in terms of ecological factors."

Protecting rare habitat

The property, now named the Edd and Ruby McNeill Natural Area, is home to more than a kilometre of coastal salt marsh and provides critical habitat for several species at risk, according to the Island Nature Trust.

The not-for-profit organization says salt marshes provide habitat for a wide range of wildlife, but make up only one to two per cent of the landmass on Prince Edward Island. Historically, many farmers built dykes in salt marshes to convert them to farmland for hay, leaving few fully intact in their original condition.

These ecosystems serve many purposes. They support breeding and migratory species, filter nitrogen from water before it reaches the sea, and sequester large amounts of blue carbon in their soils. They also help reduce the impact of storm surges and coastal erosion.

A land with history

The story of the land dates back to 1900, when Ruby McNeill's grandfather Simon Day purchased the property. He farmed the land, operated a blacksmith shop, and ran the local mail. The area became known as Days Corner.

Eventually, his youngest son, Lem, took over the land and the blacksmith shop. Though he was offered many chances to develop the land, Lem Day eventually chose to sell it to Edd and Ruby McNeill to keep it protected.

Another of the couple's sons, Dwayne McNeill, said his parents were dedicated to protecting the forest and land. They didn't hunt or trap, and always tried to be kind to the environment and the animals living there.

"All we ever did was cut wood off it. That's all they ever did with it, and farmed the front two fields," Dwayne McNeill said.

Like Lem Day, the couple received numerous offers to sell the land for development over the years but chose to honour Lem's wish of keeping it protected.

"Our parents weren't rich people. They were kind people. They gave us everything we ever wanted. But they also didn't believe that money should be your God. So basically, by putting it in their name and having a lasting legacy, I hope that they would appreciate that," David McNeill said.

"I feel that this should last for a long time after us."