Size: 87-acres
Status: Open to the Public, with trails
Partnership: Couchiching Conservancy has assisted with management
Donors: private donors
The family donated this special property set within the forested hills of the Oro Moraine to the Nature Conservancy of Canada. An additional 7 hectares were purchased to consolidate a large block of forest habitat around the Reserve by linking to adjacent properties owned by the County of Simcoe and the Orillia Fish and Game Conservation Club.
Sisters Joan Berndt and Susan Campbell donated this property in memory of their grandfather and it was a partial purchase/partial donation to the Conservancy. The Township of Severn and TD Friends of the Environment also contributed financially to make this Nature Reserve a reality.
Landscape and Species:
- part of the East Coulson provincially significant wetland is located within this property
- surrounded by upland forest as well as headwaters for the Coldwater River
- important to the water recharge of the Oro Moraine
- home to forest interior birds such as Scarlet Tanager, Wood thrush and Black-throated Green Warbler
- nesting area for Red-shouldered Hawk
- vernal pools provide ideal conditions for many species of frogs and salamanders
- good diversity of vascular plants and butterflies
Visit this Nature Reserve:
Best time to visit: any time. Be prepared for seasonal conditions (mosquitoes in the spring-summer, damp in the spring and fall, etc).
Location: From Orillia, take HWY 12 N and turn left onto 15 Line N. Then right onto Bass Lake Side Road. There is a “jog” at 13 Line N (turn left and then right back onto Bass Lake Side Rd). Follow until you come to the closed Line 9 parking area at the side of the road. Park near the large steel gate.
Trail: 1.3km. The trail is fairly low elevation change (17 meters), through mixed forest. There is a short side trail that takes you to view a wetland. When you walk through the large gate, turn left into the East Coulson Swamp Nature Reserve. If you continue straight, you will be on Simcoe County trails, which has moutain biking and snowmobiles in the winter.