Giant Tiger and The North West Company announced as Premier Healthy Living Sponsors

Oak Hammock Marsh, Man. – A healthy lifestyle doesn’t require any equipment at all – just the great outdoors. Fresh air, warm sunshine and green spaces do wonders for the mind and body. Thanks to the support of Giant Tiger Stores Limited and The North West Company, the Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre will be doling out healthy doses of the great outdoors to all its visitors.

Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) partners, Giant Tiger Stores Limited and The North West Company have been named the Centre’s Premier Healthy Living Sponsors. This five year co-sponsorship will help DUC deliver and enhance the Centre’s programming and capacity to bridge the ever-widening gap between people, particularly youth, and the outdoors. Given each companies’ national focus on bringing together Canadians and their communities, it’s a natural fit.

The Centre is a joint project of DUC and the Province of Manitoba. The concept originated with the common desire to connect people with wetlands. Today, programs such as “Critter Dipping”, “Birding Walks” and “Ecology Games”, permit youth not only to connect with nature but gain the understanding that they are key to preserving the future of these natural areas.

“We’re excited about this co-sponsorship with Giant Tiger Stores Limited and The North West Company. The Centre strives to connect people of all ages, especially today’s youth, to nature in a meaningful way. This co-sponsorship will provide great support for our programs and help enhance our mission,” says Nathalie Bays, Manager, Interpretive Centre Operations.

In the past 20 years, the Centre has hosted millions of visitors from all around the world, including close to 1 million students participating in the environmental education programs offered by the Centre. Annually, there are 200,000 visitors to the Oak Hammock Marsh site, where the Centre delivers programs to tens of thousands of students both on and off site. Many of these students are inner city students who have never before visited a wetland.

“The programs the Centre offers are excellent ways to inform people, especially youth, of the importance of natural areas in their communities, and encourage them to get active outdoors. We’re proud to be supporting this healthy, educational initiative,” says Edward Kennedy, The North West Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

The new co-sponsorship also builds on Giant Tiger’s existing relationship with DUC as a corporate licensing partner, manufacturing and selling DUC-branded merchandise in select Giant Tiger and The North West Company stores across the country and through e-commerce.

The first annual co-sponsored healthy living event will take place August 9th at Oak Hammock Marsh with the first-ever “Duck & Run”. Runners and their families are encouraged to come out and take part in the event. The focus of the day will be healthy living and connecting with nature.

About Ducks Unlimited Canada

Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) is the leader in wetland conservation. A registered charity, DUC partners with government, industry, non-profit organizations and landowners to conserve wetlands that are critical to waterfowl, wildlife and the environment. Learn more at ducks.ca.

About The North West Company

The North West Company is a leading retailer of food and everyday products and services to rural communities and urban neighbourhoods in Canada, Alaska, the South Pacific and Caribbean. North West’s Northern and NorthMart stores are the largest local private employer of Inuit and First Nations people in Canada’s North, with over 3,100 employees and an annual payroll exceeding $65 million.

About Giant Tiger Stores Limited

Giant Tiger is Canada’s largest Canadian owned discount retailer. The business was started with a very simple idea – keep the cost of operation low and sell a large volume of merchandise at everyday low prices. It is the adherence to this idea that has allowed Giant Tiger to grow to over 200 stores. Today most of stores are franchised so our valued customers will be better served by having the owner in the store. Giant Tiger franchise owners become members of the community, sharing community concerns and serving community needs.