Joyce Gemmell Jessen Habitat Conservation Fund
Joyce Gemmell Jessen Habitat Conservation Fund held at the Saskatchewan Community aims to support projects that preserve and conserve Saskatchewan’s native flora and fauna.
Establishment of a Legacy
Joyce Gemmell Jessen was born in Moose Jaw during the “Dirty 30s.” Her parents, Frank and Jean Gemmell, farmed near Tuxford before moving to Moose Jaw, and Joyce spent many summers swimming in Buffalo Pound Lake or at her uncles’ and aunts’ farms nearby.
The idea of establishing an endowed fund at SSCF to promote land conservation and the restoration of the prairie ecosystem was an easy decision for Joyce.
After completing medical technologist training at Moose Jaw’s Providence Hospital, Joyce moved to Chicago, Illinois where she met and married John David Jessen. Even then, the rolling hills and wide prairie skies of her home province were never far from her thoughts.
The prairies are just a part of who I am – I’m a prairie girl.
After completing medical technologist training at Moose Jaw’s Providence Hospital, Joyce moved to Chicago, Illinois where she met and married John David Jessen. Even then, the rolling hills and wide prairie skies of her home province were never far from her thoughts.
“I’m a local girl ‘done good.’ This is a way to celebrate my roots, give back to the community, and to share the beauty of the prairies with future generations,” she said. “Saskatchewan’s native prairies are a fragile, disappearing ecosystem. In the 1930s and ‘40s, we didn’t know what our farming practices did to the soil. We didn’t understand how the roots of native grasses held the land together or how birds and wildlife depended on the delicate balance of vegetation, water, and open spaces. I’m thrilled that the Joyce Gemmell Jessen Habitat Conservation Fund will leverage community partnerships and greater understanding of this amazing environment.”
