Mr. Speaker, I draw the attention of the House to a generous donation of ecologically-sensitive land being made by a constituent, Mrs. Ruth Edna Neville, under the federal ecological gifts program.
The Neville farm, on the shores of Lake Champlain at Venise-en-Québec, is the ancestral home of the Neville family, several members of which live in my riding.
Although pieces of the original farm, acquired in 1846 by Irish-born Timothy Neville, have been parcelled out over time, 200 acres remain today in Neville family hands, of which 146 acres are being donated to the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
This gift to Canadians is home to soft-shelled turtles, several species of ducks, beaver, muskrat and other otter, and whitetail deer, as well as rare plants which add to the area's importance as an ecological refuge.
My congratulations to the Neville family for their vision and generosity and the trouble they have gone to in order to achieve their dream of being able to share this magnificent natural setting with future generations.