The Nature Investment Hub is growing! We are delighted to welcome new leadership and an expanded set of partners in finance, conservation and philanthropy. We are also continuing to deepen our values-aligned collaborations with organizations championing Indigenous-led conservation and stewardship in Canada.
Celebrating its first anniversary, the Hub is building on the momentum of its inaugural year by fulfilling its promise of activating a network of diverse groups committed to scaling investment in nature across Canada. Stepping into its next phase with new leadership and a broadened coalition of powerful players signals accelerated action ahead on conservation finance in Canada.
The new Managing Director of Nature Investment Hub is Dr. Priya Bala-Miller, a sustainability leader and advocate with two decades of experience. She has championed mainstreaming responsible investment and sustainable finance in Canada and globally. Most recently, she served as a senior advisor on conservation finance at Environment and Climate Change Canada, and sustainable finance at Natural Resources Canada. She spent five years at the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE), and actively contributed to the Responsible Investing Initiative at Carleton University and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). Dr. Priya Bala-Miller holds an MA and PhD in Political Science from UBC and an MA in Conflict Analysis and Management from Royal Roads University.
“I am thrilled to be joining the Hub at an inflection point in its evolution that is buoyed by tremendous momentum and promise,” said Dr. Bala-Miller. “With a talented team in place, we are well-positioned to leverage the energy generated by our fast-growing network to make significant inroads on Canada’s conservation finance agenda.”
At the same time, Nature Investment Hub announces a host of new partners:
New partners join a strong group that have been with the Hub since its inception, including Coast Funds, Nature Conservancy Canada, Nature United, RESOLVE Canada, Generate Canada, the Smart Prosperity Institute, and the Metcalf Foundation, which is also one of the Hub’s core funders, alongside the Echo Foundation. In the spirit of deep relationship building and action, the Hub also works closely with collaborators who are actively pursuing finance pathways for Indigenous-led conservation and stewardship, such as the recently launched First 30×30 Canada. Together, partners and collaborators of the Hub aim to set and advance an agenda that will catalyze and accelerate the rapid growth of conservation finance in Canada.
As the Hub expands, so too does the momentum on the ground, with notable milestones such as the recent historic NWT: Our Land for the Future agreement. This includes $375M of funding dedicated to Indigenous-led conservation using the innovative Project Finance for Permanence model. Achievements like this give reason to celebrate, alongside opportunities for continued learning so collectively we can build on these successes.
“Generate Canada is proud of its Solution Space, the Nature Investment Hub, and everything that has been accomplished in its first year,” said David Hughes, President and CEO of Generate Canada. “We have a best-in-class team and network, strengthened by the additions of Dr. Bala-Miller and new partners. Now, everything is in place to ramp up, collaborate more deeply, and mobilize significant private sector, public, and philanthropic funds towards nature in Canada.”
“We are proud of the foundation we’ve set in our first year, and hear the strong call for action,” agreed Courtney Kehoe, Director of Partner Engagement at the Nature Investment Hub. “As we work to get really practical about how to increase investment in nature in Canada, our goal is to listen to our partners—many of whom are practitioners with deep, on-the-ground insights and expertise—to determine what needs to be done. This is the basis of the agenda-setting we aim to drive in 2025.”
Here’s What New Partners are Saying about Joining the Hub
“We need novel approaches to stem the loss of grasslands, as we see grassland birds continue to decline. We are therefore excited to participate in this collaborative effort to use conservation finance tools to protect our most important natural areas.”
– Silke Nebel, Vice President Key Conservation Initiatives, Birds Canada
“Carolinian Canada is excited to partner with the Nature Investment Hub, uniting our efforts to advance Conservation Finance through initiatives like the Conservation Impact Bond. Together, we are fostering reconciliation, championing nature-based solutions, and driving investments in a sustainable, thriving economy for the future.”
– Jo Reynolds, Impact Investment Manager, Carolinian Canada
“It is more important now than ever before to take action to conserve and restore habitat and support biodiversity. Ducks Unlimited Canada is proud to be part of the Nature Investment Hub and to work with partners to conserve nature for the benefit of species and people.”
– Michael Nadler, CEO, Ducks Unlimited Canada
”FSC Canada is excited to join the Nature Investment Hub and engage with a strong network of partners. By collaborating and sharing knowledge, we aim to find innovative ways to fully value and incentivize investments that deliver measurable climate and biodiversity benefits.”
– Vivian Peachey, Director of Climate and Landscape Solutions, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Canada
“As N4J partners with Indigenous Nations to identify long-term financing channels for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas – through First 30×30 and other activities – we see the Hub as an obvious partner who can bring marketplace actors and technical knowledge to support that work.”
– Steven Nitah, Managing Director-Canada, Nature for Justice
“We are thrilled to be a partner in the Nature Investment Hub. As a Canadian impact investment manager participating in private impact investment deals across sectors and asset classes, we know all too well that there is a dearth in private natural capital solutions that target positive outcomes for nature. This gap is especially pronounced when you consider the abundance of Canada’s natural resources and when compared to other markets like the US. We are inspired by the Hub’s model and are committed to working with the Hub and its partners to solve this gap, accelerating private capital’s role in nature-based solutions.”
– Kelly Gauthier, President, Rally Assets
The Sitka Foundation is thrilled to join the Nature Investment Hub to amplify the scale of investments by private and public institutions into nature. With a climate and biodiversity polycrisis in our midst we need to act together to bring solutions to landscapes and waterways in a collaborative and helpful way. The Sitka Foundation celebrates the team at Nature Investment Hub and all its members who are showcasing the diversity of conservation finance mechanisms to do this.
– Carolynn Beaty, Executive Director, The Sitka Foundation