The CEI is set on 160 acres of pristine, natural mixed-grass prairie habitat, carefully protected and preserved for the benefit of native wildlife. The property is enclosed by two miles of 8-foot game fencing, complete with ground wire underlay and a 4-foot overhang, ensuring a safe environment for both resident and rehabilitating animals.

The landscape features a mosaic of indigenous grasses, aspen and poplar bluffs, spruce woodland, and extensive bog and wetland areas, including two large natural bodies of open water and smaller man-made ponds. Crucially, the CEI has never used pesticides or chemical treatments on the land, and all vegetation remains entirely native. This commitment to ecological integrity not only supports biodiversity, but also provides a healthy, authentic environment for the rehabilitation and eventual release of orphaned and injured wildlife.

Originally, at the turn of the last century, the 160 acres of CEI land was deeded to the Canadian Pacific railroad, CPR, by the federal government. The CPR put a pond in at the headwaters of the Horse Creek (Horse creek spring is on CEI land) but otherwise made no changes in the land. In the 1920’s CPR sold the land to a family of ranchers, Mr. & Mrs. Viney. The Vineys never logged or farmed the 160 acres where the CEI now is, this was because much of the land was swampy or heavily wooded, and the Vineys considered it unsuitable for farming. So, for the next 35 years the 160 acres remained unchanged. In 1964, the Smeeton’s bought the land from the Vineys. And, apart from building the main house and digging a well, left the land as it was. As result the land of the CEI is one of the last remaining areas of truly unspoiled native vegetation left in the area.