May 6th, 2025 OPEN NATURE RESERVES: Grant’s Woods!, Alexander Hope Smith and Sweetwater Farm CLOSED NATURE RESERVES: Adams, Cameron Ranch, Carthew Bay, Church Woods, East Coulson Swamp, Kris Starr Sanctuary, Little Bluestem Alvar, Prairie Smoke Alvar, Ron Reid, Scout Valley, Thomas C. Agnew, Windmill Ranch If You Would Like To …
Remembering Ron Reid
We will be gathering in the heart of his beloved Carden Alvar at the Carden Recreation Centre, 258 Lake Dalrymple Rd., Sebright. Saturday, May 3 from 2 – 5ish PM. We hope you will join to celebrate Ron’s legacy. Accessibility: there is a wheelchair friendly entrance through the back of …
Field Notes: Delayed Start To Invasive Species Pulls
The start of the Invasive Species field season has been full of interesting and new challenges. After the ice storm, the Stewardship team at The Couchiching Conservancy had to restructure their priorities and shift their focus towards safely opening nature reserves. The amount of debris and damage from the ice …
Calling Volunteers For Two Bio Blitzes
Bio Blitz: Eldridge Nature Reserve- June 28 from 8am- 2pm (Scroll down for information on the Bio Blitz at Mitchell Bruce Nature Reserve) Eldridge Nature Reserve was acquired by the Couchiching Conservancy in 2025. It is a stunning landscape near Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park, and other Couchiching Conservancy …
Support The Carden Challenge!
The biggest fundraiser – and best 24 hours! – of the year are upon us! For 21 years, nature lovers and birders have been flocking to The Carden Alvar to see how many species, bird, bug or bush, they can count in 24 hours. This beloved weekend, culminating in a …
Field Notes: Two Weeks At Couchiching Conservancy
Hi! We’re Darian and Ellen, and we’re students in the Ecosystem Management Technician program at Fleming College. This month, we finished up our program with a two-week placement at Couchiching Conservancy. We started our placement right after the huge ice storm, so our initial itinerary changed to allow us …
Conservation Conversations
This column was originally published in Orillia Matters on April 29, 2025 The Couchiching Conservancy protects nature in your area. Preserving green space is one of the best ways to mitigate climate change and as a staff member, I’m interested in how climate change is affecting local businesses. Perhaps because …
Leave a Legacy Month
What is your vision for your community in 50 years? You can be a part of that vision with a legacy gift. This May, during Leave a Legacy Month, consider making a lasting impact with The Couchiching Conservancy through our Heartwood Fund. Your legacy gift not only protects nature …
A Mother and Daughter for Mother Nature
As published in The Villager Magazine May 1, 2025 Trudy Coughlin has a degree in anatomy and has always loved the outdoors. In the early years of her marriage, she and her husband bought a farm in Kirkland Lake, but found they couldn’t make a living and she eventually began …
Alphabet Soup – What is the CPCAD?
After 9 years working at The Conservancy it feels like things have come full circle. I started here going door-to-door as an Engagement Organizer with Aiesha Aggarwal, our now Conservation Analyst. We were asking the community to support the 17% Pledge. The 17% Pledge supported including land trust nature reserves …
Annual General Meeting Recap
Thank you to those of you who attended the April 13 Annual General Meeting. Even with two postponed dates, about a week’s notice of the rescheduled date, and on a beautiful sunny Sunday, we still had 126 people attend. Thank you. Here are a few highlights of the meeting: Our …
Wild Routes: Minesing to Matchedash Part 1
Written by Biologist, Toby Rowland: Since I first learned about the conservation corridors envisioned by Ron Reid across the Couchiching region, I’ve wondered how wildlife could actually move through these areas. These corridors connect protected lands, such as nature reserves, provincial parks, and crown lands, with private lands that still …