Legacy of Love: Vicki’s Path to Supporting Conservation

"Conservation and nature are important to me. I like having the opportunity to give back as long as possible, even after I’m gone."

“I’ve been interested in nature since I was young. My friends and I spent a lot of time outside, building forts and searching for frogs, toads, snakes, and salamanders. My mom had a big garden that my sister and I helped her with.”

With that lifelong interest in nature, it’s not surprising that Vicki Smith recently chose to make conservation organizations – including WCS Canada – part of her legacy planning.

“This past spring, I updated my will. I worked with an Estate Planner. I learned about different options to make a legacy gift. Designating a charity as a beneficiary on my life insurance and investments turned out to be easy.”

Vicki studied Natural Resources Management at university. She works for an environmental consulting company doing environmental impact assessments for industrial projects. She enjoys volunteering on several citizen science projects during her spare time. “I recently participated in a bat count with the regional community bat program that collaborates with WCS Canada, and we counted more than 100 bats!”

“I look forward to volunteering on citizen science projects every summer. This summer, I’ve been surveying butterflies, loons, and nighthawks. I take my four-year-old nephew out to survey for butterflies and loons. He gets so excited spotting them for me. Kids love to learn!”

The wealth of information that WCS Canada shares appeals to Vicki:

“The work WCS Canada is doing with their webinars and publications, educating people about the different challenges and the things we can do to help – I think that’s important. It’s really important to have opportunities where people can learn and get involved.”

Vicki’s mother encouraged her children to plan ahead and to make charitable giving part of their lives. “My mom was an advocate for planning and giving. She encouraged my sister and me to get life insurance and to donate to charities when we were in our early twenties. When my mom was going through the process of updating her will, she explained to me that for some people, there are tax incentives for leaving donations. You can leave money for your kids, but you can also afford to leave money to charities.”

Vicki’s appreciation of the value of nature made it natural for her to make a legacy gift to WCS Canada. But while she was visiting her bank to set up her gift, she discovered that her choice made her stand out: “They seemed really surprised and told me that people don’t usually designate conservation organizations as beneficiaries.”

She has no doubts about following her heart: “Conservation is important to me. Nature has given me so much. I like having the opportunity to give back for as long as possible, even after I’m gone. I’ve been giving to conservation organizations across Canada for several years. So many habitats and species need our help.”