Couchiching,

Welcome!

Gratitude and responsibility – two feelings I am left with after joining fellow staff, board members and volunteers from different land trusts across the country at the 2022 Canadian Land Trust Summit.

I am so grateful to be working in the conservation field, where every day I am surrounded by people who have big hearts and gentle souls. We are motivated by our love for nature and a desire to protect and preserve the gifts of the natural world for future generations. The outdoors offers a place for healing, for cherished memories, a conduit for better physical and mental health, a place to disconnect from a volatile online world and reconnect with their own thoughts and feelings, to reconnect to the place we all came from.

Yes, I feel grateful for my connections with all of you and with nature, and it is because of this gratitude that I also feel a responsibility. A responsibility to take care of that which we all value—the natural world. To give back to nature, to appreciate it, and to protect it. The responsibility to acknowledge that not everyone may have had the same access to nature as I have had through my life. I feel the responsibility to acknowledge that through Canadian history and up until the present day natural areas are being strategically and neglectfully made inaccessible to many, and I feel the responsibility with all of you to fight to change that.

And, so, as the days shorten, and the cold weather sets in, let’s share our gratitude for one another and for nature, and remember that the responsibility we feel is rooted in love and understanding.

After writing this, a new word is on my mind - “Action!”

Aiesha Aggarwal

Conservation Analyst

Emerald Ash Borer impacting local forests

Across Simcoe County the invasive Emerald Ash Borer is having a profound impact on forest canopies as it rapidly kills ash tree species. The Church Woods Nature Reserve has not been spared from this onslaught. In the more mature parts of the forest, giant white ash trees that predate most of the neighbourhood are now dead. Once infested, the mortality rate is very high. Having protected areas like Church Woods is important as they provide a space for resistant trees to propagate and contribute to the survival of ash species in Ontario. 

These hazardous ash trees need to be removed. We are working with a professional arborist and over 70 trees have been marked for removal. Estimates to complete this work surpass $30,000 and funds will need to come from a stewardship reserve built by donors in the community. To care for and maintain this forest is critical and requires ongoing support from people like you.

By making a gift today, you can contribute to the conservation of this treasured nature reserve.

Help shape our Annual General Meeting

Save the date for Saturday, March 4, 2023!