There are 365 days in a year. That’s 52 weeks, 8760 hours or 525,600 minutes. For the supporters, volunteers and staff of The Couchiching Conservancy, that time is dedicated to protecting some of the wild landscapes in our region.
At our recent Annual General Meeting, we spent time looking back on those days, those weeks, those hours. What did we accomplish this year? How did we make a difference? How did we make the world a little better for our community, for the species and for ourselves?[wc_row][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”first”]
“How did we make the world a little better for our community,”
[/wc_column][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”last”]There are some big accomplishments and many ‘small’ tasks that accumulate over the year. All of these tasks are moving towards the common goal, to protect and care for the land we love. To ensure it is never developed, and always here for our livelihood and well-being.
[/wc_column][/wc_row]It would not be possible for me to cover everything that has happened in a year. In fact, I’m always in awe of the things that the volunteers and staff accomplish. Some of the highlights include the work being done by the Water Quality volunteers, the Passport to Nature program, the Ambassador Team who attend community events, stewardship efforts to remove invasive species and working with private land owners. One more is the 17% pledge. Almost 1,000 people signed their name in support of conservation efforts in the region and showed their concern for our local environment.
[wc_row][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”first”]One of those ‘big’ accomplishments is the acquisition of the Adams Nature Reserve, a 107 acre property in Severn Township. This acquisition has been in the works for many years – that’s where those small tasks I mentioned come into play. There are aspects of land trust work that cannot be hurried, but instead require a consistent effort to make a difference. This property is a donation by Heather and Alec Adams, long time Conservancy supporters. If you supported the Conservancy financially in the past few years, then you helped to acquire this property.
[/wc_column][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”last”]“One of those ‘big’ accomplishments is the acquisition of the Adams Nature Reserve, a 107 acre property.”
[/wc_column][/wc_row]In order to make a property donation a reality, there are a lot of small tasks needed: working with lawyers, paperwork, more paperwork, on-going meetings and discussions. That of course is a bit of a simplified explanation of acquisition, but you get the idea.
Another accomplishment is the on-going care of the properties already under our protection. That means working with volunteers to manage invasive species, do trail maintenance, monitoring, and inventories. And of course as with any accomplishments are also the behind the scenes work. Meetings to plan the work, training with volunteers and a plethora of other tasks and to dos.
Conservation work is powered by the kindness and financial support of people like you, who take the time to read these articles and attend our events. Even with a full agenda at the Annual General Meeting, it’s still wasn’t possible to discuss everything that has happened in the past year. For those of you who are interested in learning about the difference we made together this year, please see our website for our Annual Report.
As another year is already two months in, we are well underway in our 365 days, 52 weeks, 8760 hours or 525,600 minutes. The work we are able to do and the difference we can make depends on you.
[wc_button type=”primary” url=”https://www.canadahelps.org/dn/13750″ title=”Visit Site” target=”self” position=”float”]Make a donation to local conservation today![/wc_button]
Tanya Clark is the Development Coordinator at The Couchiching Conservancy, a non-profit land trust dedicated to protecting our irreplaceable land in our region.