A popular coastal reserve will be renamed to honour a man who has spent more than 25 years working on conservation projects in Nova Scotia and across the country.
The Dr. Bill Freedman Nature Reserve includes 150 hectares of cliffs, shoreline, granite barren, tidal marsh, coastal forest and bog at what’s known as Prospect High Head, about 23 kilometres southwest of Halifax.
Hikers and bird watchers can glimpse harlequin ducks, black scooters and long-tailed ducks there, a place that is also the home of rare arctic-alpine plants.
“The viewscape is incredible, in addition to the very significant ecological features,” said Linda Stephenson, the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Atlantic regional vice-president.

The Dr. Bill Freedman Nature Reserve includes 150 hectares of cliffs, shoreline, granite barren, tidal marsh, coastal forest and bog near Halifax.
(NATURE CONSERVANCY OF CANADA)
“It’s just a perfect (reserve) to recognize Dr. Bill because he often led tours for donors and potential donors in that area.”
Freedman, who has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, recently retired as an ecologist and former chairman of the biology department at Dalhousie University.
The Halifax scientist volunteered with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and served as its national board chairman and its Atlantic board chairman. He wrote a book on the 50-year-history of the organization, which has protected 1.1 million hectares of land across the county.
Freedman was involved when the conservancy began acquiring sites in the area, often searching out properties to make certain of their ecological value, Stephenson said.
“And it’s always such a treat to go on a walk with him because it seems as if there isn’t a plant or animal or bird that he doesn’t know, in both English and Latin.”
On one tour for donors accompanied by their children, Freedman, a parent and recent grandparent, “was right down on the ground, explaining things, so six- and seven-year-olds could fully understand and become enthusiastic about them,” Stephenson said.
The organization will also create a science-in-conservation internship in Freedman’s name that will be awarded annually to a Dalhousie student to work with nature conservancy senior staff.
It’s a natural fit for a man who has been passionate about research and instrumental in helping the conservancy grow its conservation science program over the years, from when the organization relied almost solely on volunteer scientists, Stephenson said.
“Now, we employ some of the best and brightest conservation scientists in the country. And who knows? Maybe some of these interns will end up working for us.”
Stephenson said the decision to rename the reserve and offer the internship was made to acknowledge Freedman’s contributions.
“He’s just a tremendously respected member of the organization. ... We want him to know how much he is appreciated.”