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East Coulson Swamp Nature Reserve

In Nature Reserves & Easements by couchiching

Every piece of land has a story. Sometimes it’s a tale of fortunes made and lost or historic efforts great and small.
For green spaces, sometimes it’s a story of overuse and recovery but often it is a celebration of dedicated individuals who cherish the natural values of the land. This is one of those stories.

The red-shouldered hawk was once common in southern Ontario, but suffered a decline several decades ago. Through conservation efforts this magnificent raptor has made a strong comeback.

Its recovery owes much thanks to famed author Margaret Atwood, who donated 87 acres of wetland and woodland near Bass Lake in Oro-Medonte Township to the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

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Latest Acquisition Appeal: Agnew Nature Reserve

In Nature Reserves & Easements, News by couchiching

Wetlands are among the most endangered habitats in Ontario. Despite the crucial role they play in providing natural habitat and maintaining the health of our lakes and rivers, they are disappearing at a rate of 80 acres a day.

Protecting such vanishing wilderness is a high priority for The Couchiching Conservancy, and when the opportunity to create the Thomas C. Agnew Nature Reserve arose, we acted.

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Alvars — Habitat for the Hardy

In Nature Reserves & Easements, News by couchiching

Anyone who has driven County Rd. #6 between Kirkfield and Lake Dalrymple can be forgiven for thinking the landscape looks out of the ordinary and even a bit desolate. What they are seeing is in fact quite uncommon. Most of Carden Township contains alvars, a globally-rare habitat featuring flat limestone bedrock, dotted with lightly wooded habitats. Alvars are found in only a few places in the world (Sweden for example) and in Ontario, they can be found in a couple of areas such as Manitoulin Island and Carden Township. To have such an unusual and fascinating landscape so close to Lindsay and Orillia is something we can be proud of.

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Nature’s Rugged Canvas — The Canadian Shield

In Nature Reserves & Easements, News by couchiching

Rocky outcrops, dark blue lakes, and dense forests; it’s no wonder that members of the famous Group of Seven artists chose locations on the Canadian Shield for their masterpieces.

The Canadian Shield, also known as the Precambrian Shield, covers almost half of Canada and reaches as far south in our region as the Severn River corridor.

During the last ice age, about 15,000 years ago, huge glaciers scraped the land pushing topsoil and rocks hundreds of kilometres south, leaving exposed bedrock, large hollows in the surface and very little topsoil.