Hampton Man Recognized By Ducks Unlimited

A Hampton man has been named one of Ducks Unlimited Canada’s volunteers of the year in New Brunswick.

Chris Fader has been volunteering with the wetland conservation group for more than 27 years.

Fader said he was encouraged to join the organization by a friend of his back in the early 1990s.

“He thought that me being an outdoor enthusiast that it would be something that I would enjoy, so I went down and joined up and, over the years, one thing led to another,” said Fader, who now serves as chair of the local chapter in Hampton.

Fader has a long list of memories so far, such as contributing to the Hampton committee’s successful nest box program.

He also supported the Adopt-A-Class program, which gave local Grade 4 students the chance to visit local wetlands.

“One of the biggest rewards was when the teacher would have the children write about their experiences and send letter cards back to our committee. Just to read the comments from those children was just over the top,” said Fader.

But one story which will likely top Fader’s list of memories was the chapter’s annual fundraising dinner last year.

It happened to fall on the same day that the remnants of hurricane Dorian moved into southern New Brunswick.

Fader said he was getting a lot of calls from people asking if the dinner was still going ahead.

“Where it’s such a large event and we had a caterer hired, we had the hall secured, I said ‘yes, we’re still going to go through with it’ and knowing the people that do attend, they look forward to that,” he said.

“Through a hurricane and through a couple of power outages, the dinner went on successful. When the power went out, people brought out their cell phones and turned on the lights and said ‘we’re going to make it happen tonight.'”

After nearly three decades with the conservation group, Fader said he has no plans to stop volunteering any time soon.

“I’m staying involved in it, although being the chairperson, I would like to step back a little bit and let somebody else carry the reins,” he said.

Fader’s biggest hope is that more younger people get involved to help carry the committee through to the coming years.

“Over the years, they looked upon Ducks Unlimited as an organization to raise waterfowl and that all we are were hunters, but is farther from the truth and what it’s about,” he said.

“Improving the environment really is what it’s about nowadays along with the natural beauties of recreational activities through the wetlands, whether you’re a kayaker or just a trail walker.”

Fader shares his honour with John Johnston of Hanwell, a 41-year volunteer, who was also named Duck Unlimited Canada’s national volunteer of the year.