Building a lasting legacy of conservation for future generations

Christenson has become a fierce advocate for conservation in the region through her involvement with Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC). Over the last 41 years, she’s served as the chair for the Creston Ducks Unlimited Canada chapter and held almost every position on the Ducks Unlimited Canada British Columbia Provincial Council, including secretary, vice chair and provincial chair. She’s chaired two provincial conventions and co-chaired three other regional conventions with Ducks Unlimited Canada. She was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her volunteer work for Ducks Unlimited Canada in 2013. Currently, Christenson is an advisor for the provincial council alongside her role as chair for her local chapter — which she returned to two years ago after the chapter folded in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since coming back as chair, Christenson has revived the Creston chapter, hosting a successful banquet last fall that brought in a wave of donations and attracted new volunteers. She’s also taken on the role of mentor to the new volunteers to whom she hopes to pass the torch. “I’ve got a really good group of young ladies that are stepping out of their comfort zone,” she says. “It’s a team effort. The main thing is that we’ve got to keep raising money through our chapters and keep the work going.” In gratitude for her decades of invaluable impact and tireless work for Ducks Unlimited Canada, we’re proud to recognize Christenson as Volunteer of the Year in British Columbia.

For Christenson, conservation has always been a family affair. “When the grandkids started coming, the goal became to preserve the wetlands for the future generations,” she says. She and her family were actively involved in the Greenwing Program when it was running. Now, five of her grandkids are legacy members and Christenson has paid their way for a lifetime Ducks Unlimited Canada membership. Cultivating a love of nature was important to Christenson, her husband and their children. “When the grandkids were little, we’d take them up to a place in Fernie where we did pond dipping and built birdhouses,” she remembers. “We taught them a lot there. They were having fun, but they were also learning.”

Volunteering with Ducks Unlimited Canada isn’t just an outlet for Christenson’s passion for conservation, it’s also given her a deep sense of community and camaraderie that’s carried her through life’s ups and downs. “What’s most meaningful about working with Ducks is the people I’ve met,” she says. “When I lost my husband a few years ago, it was the Ducks family that was there for me. So many people have come and gone, but we’ve always been able to keep in touch.”

Christenson’s work with Ducks Unlimited Canada is a legacy she’ll leave not only for her own grandkids, but for all the children growing up in her community. “Saving the wetlands isn’t just for the birds. It’s for four-legged animals and two-legged animals — it’s for humans, too,” she says. “The Ducks Unlimited Canada mission is to conserve, restore and manage the wetlands with the ambitious goal to restore over 15 million acres of natural habitats across Canada. We have to be vigilant and focus on what matters: together we can protect the wetlands and wildlife for the generations of tomorrow.”

There are approximately 290 Ducks Unlimited Canada volunteers in British Columbia and 3,030 across Canada. Ducks Unlimited Canada is proud to recognize each of them — including leaders like Bettylou Christenson — as volunteer champions and conservationists who make waves and together, create ripples of change by serving with generosity, passion and dedication.