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What’s the point in conserving our natural lands?Would you dare imagine Dundas and Ancaster without the Dundas Valley Conservation Area?
Male Mallard Duck, Dundas Valley CAVISTAWatershed moments from the Hamilton Conservation Foundation Winter 2016-17
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Lands in the Spencer Creek watershed (pictured above) were protected by some of the first donations to the Foundation in the 1970s.Our communities are stronger and healthier because of the foresight and selfless generosity of our donors
The foresight and generosity of our first donors in the 1970shelped to secure vast swaths of the Dundas Valley fromhousing developments and a highway bypass. These spacesadd immeasurably to our quality of life, and will continue to doso for generations to come.
The east end of the Hamilton watershed has not been so lucky.Significant progress has been made in protecting the Felker’sFalls, Eramosa Karst, Devil’s Punchbowl and Mount AlbionConservation Areas, but there is still work to be done. If wewant to take pride in the legacy that we leave to futuregenerations in the east, we have to do more.
For decades, land prices, austerity budgets and political willhave made large-scale land acquisition efforts all butimpossible. Finally, with a changing climate, an opportunityhas arisen.
As reported in our Spring edition, a new Conservation Area iscoming. Your donations have now helped protect over 219acres (89 hectares) in the Stoney and Battlefield Creekwatersheds. Your help can accomplish even more.
Future generations’ lives will be enriched by these spaces. Theircommunities will be stronger; their lives happier and healthier.All because you had the foresight and generosity to do more.
New plantings continue to expandEramosa Karst CA footprintNew plantings on the Eramosa Karst feeder landsalong Rymal Road now provide a stronger bufferbetween the busy arterial road and protectedmeadow habitat.Despite the rain and mud, over 40 volunteers helped plant157 native trees and shrubs.
This year’s event was made possible by donations from theFriends of the Eramosa Karst, Heritage Green CommunityTrust, RBC Royal Bank and Stantec Consulting.
The Friends of the Eramosa Karst are fundraising for moreplantings at their 10th Anniversary Dinner/Dance SaturdayMarch 4, 2017. See www.friendsoferamosakarst.org fordetails.
Remembering founding boardmember Dr. Richard H.D. Farmer This October, the Foundation lost one of its mostfaithful supporters.Dr. Farmer was one of the founding Directors of theFoundation in 1976 and served on the board for over thirtyyears. During this time, he helped to raise funds to protectland in the Dundas Valley, launch a new OutdoorEnvironmental Education program and build the Hamiltonto Brantford Rail Trail.
Dr. Farmer was a prominent plastic surgeon and served asChief of Staff and Chair of Plastic Surgery at Chedoke andChedoke-McMaster Hospitals.
Many readers will know the Farmer name as belonging toone of Ancaster’s earliest and most storied families.
Join our Board of DirectorsThe Hamilton Conservation Foundation is seekinginterested and qualified individuals to serve on theBoard of Directors.
The Hamilton Conservation Foundation is a community-based, not-for-profit corporation, raising funds and otherresources to support the Hamilton Conservation Authorityin meeting its conservation, environmental education andheritage preservation goals. The Board of Directors isresponsible for maintaining the fiscal health and meetingcorporate requirements of the Foundation, practicingresponsible stewardship of the funds received, andfostering a shared conservation vision with the HamiltonConservation Authority and the community of supporters.
As a Director and member of the Board, you will be expected to:
l Attend monthly, evening Board meetings (2nd Mondayof the month, September to June);
l Attend the Annual General Meeting (2nd Monday ofMay); election of Directors takes place at the AnnualGeneral Meeting;
l Participate in fundraising activities;
l Participate in Foundation and community activities;
l Serve on at least one Standing Committee of theBoard;
l Serve one 3 -year term with the option of standing forre-election by the membership for a second 3 yearterm.
We are currently looking for candidates with an interest inattracting resources needed for important conservationneeds, and experience ranging from fundraising, financialmanagement, not-for-profit corporate governance, tomarketing and communication. Candidates should possessleadership and communication skills, have insight to helpshape the Foundation’s direction, and be willing tostrengthen the role of the Hamilton ConservationFoundation within the Hamilton community throughcommunity contacts.
These are non-paid, volunteer positions.
For further information, please see:
http://www.hamiltonconservationfoundation.ca/ board
If you appreciate the importance of conservation andhelping our community in a volunteer capacity, pleaseemail your resume and cover letter (volunteer experienceincluded) to:
Hamilton Conservation Foundation NominationsCommittee
Over 40 volunteers braved the rain and mud to plant 157 trees onthe Eramosa Karst Feeder Lands.
There a good number of environmental charities in theHamilton-Burlington area. We all have different priorities,mandates and service areas. Sometimes it’s hard to knowwhen you’re giving to a charity, that you’ve picked the rightone.
With the advent of the Cootes to Escarpment EcoParkSystem, nine different land-owning agencies have cometogether to protect a very special part of Southern Ontario.The EcoPark System connects two of the area’s mostsignificant natural features: Cootes Paradise and the NiagaraEscarpment.
That level of collaboration hasn’t gone unnoticed. This pastOctober, The Echo Foundation issued a grant of $100,000 tobe shared between three of the EcoPark System’s partners.Each of those three partners (Hamilton ConservationAuthority, Conservation Halton and Royal BotanicalGardens) has their own acquisition within the EcoPark area
to be funded with this grant.
In total, 148 acres (60 hectares) of land will be protectedforever by three partners with the help of this grant.
The Echo Foundation (formerly the EJLB Foundation) is apublic Foundation based on Montreal, QC with a focus oncutting-edge environmental and mental health projectswhich take new and meaningful approaches to problemsolving which can be applied to other communities aroundCanada.
This is not the first time that the Echo Foundation hassupported the Hamilton Conservation Foundation. In 2001and 2002, they provided $40,000 in seed funding to helpestablish a new Outdoor Environmental Education programin the Dundas Valley Conservation Area supported by a mixof public and private funders. The program continues to be ahuge success today reaching over 8,000 students annually.
Collaborative approach to land acquisition gets big boostfrom The Echo Foundation$100,000 grant from Montreal, QC, based Foundation to be shared between Hamilton ConservationFoundation, Royal Botanical Gardens and Conservation Halton.
Lands between Cootes Paradise and the Niagara Escarpment connect two of Southern Ontario’s most vibrant and diverse ecosystems.
VISTAPublished byHamilton Conservation Foundation
PO Box 81067, 838 Mineral Springs RoadAncaster, ON L9G 4X1 905-525-2181
Editors: Grace Correia, Sarah Gauden andToby Tresidder
Photos: Sandy Bell, Grace Correia, LindsayDavidson, Joel Konik, Toby Tresidder
Template concept: HellingmanCommunications
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The Hamilton Conservation Foundation protects and enhances naturaland cultural legacies by raising and stewarding funds for the HamiltonConservation Authority.Our charitable registration number is 85997 5617 RR0001.
Your donations to the HamiltonConservation Foundation help to:
n Get kids learning about the environmentoutdoors
n Protect and improve the Hamiltonwatershed’s meadows, forests, streams andwetlands in our Conservation Areas
n Build new trails and improve existing onesn Bring history to life at Westfield Heritage
Village
Thank You!
