Welcome to your October/November e-newsletter.

With Halloween just past and winter around the corner we wrap up the field season and are awed by the amount of data there is to compile. The emails and slips of paper that represent hundreds of hours of work, cold hands, warm hearts and bug spray in action come flying into the office and generate a flurry of activity and analysis. The work our community undertakes, from community scientists to committee members is truly inspiring.

Inspiration is what we need in this moment. With world leaders in Glasgow, attending Cop 26 humanity waits with baited breath to see if they will rise to the occasion and take the bold action needed to combat the climate crisis. Their work will impact us all, just as the work of our volunteers impacts all the countless lives that call our nature reserves home.

You are an essential part of the solution, you have already risen to the occasion, and we thank you for all you do to support work that protects the world we share.

In this e-newsletter you will find information on the Corridors Campaign, our most recent pandemic update, events, maps, notes from the field and a bulletin about our wine club.

Courtney Baker

Unfortunately, we cannot rest on our laurels. On a global scale, we are all witnessing the impacts of climate change on our planet. Locally we are witnessing incredible intense development pressure. If you follow the local media, you will be aware of many instances where our wetlands are being destroyed, lakefront being urbanized, and our farmland and forests being developed. Because of the need to address climate change and development pressure in our area, it is crucial to do MORE and do it SOONER. Although we cannot prevent development, we still have an opportunity over the next number of years to protect thousands of acres of environmentally sensitive lands in the Couchiching area.

That is what the $1.4 million Corridors Campaign is about! Protecting more properties sooner in two environmentally sensitive areas – the Black River area and the Carden Alvar.

Your Board of Directors and the Advisory Council are passionate about making significant progress towards our Corridors objectives. To demonstrate their commitment to this initiative they have collectively donated or pledged around $200,000 to the Campaign. On behalf of the Board and Advisory Council I would ask you to consider joining our challenge to protect nature, and making a donation or pledge to our Corridors Campaign. Again, nature thanks you!

Sincerely,

Doug Varty

The office remains closed to the public, but staff are working in the office more consistently and are able to assist by email, phone, or in person by ringing the front door bell. We are now hosting some volunteers in the office, as long as they are vaccinated and wear a mask. Through the pandemic, we have been using the Boardroom as extra office space, but with the vaccination rates and case numbers being what they are, we decided to transition it back into a meeting space. We can host a maximum of 12 volunteers in the Boardroom (again, vaccinated and masked). We are not currently taking bookings from community groups.

The most tragic tales belong to the people who didn’t come home to tell them. For generations children of families who lost loved ones have learned about their loss in school. They learn the famous stories of our shared nation, Vimmy Ridge, Billy Bishop, V Day, the list is long. Then, hopefully, they move forward grateful to lives in a different world.

The Black River Road from Lewisham Lane to Victoria Falls and beyond will only be open until the snow flies, and many people have been enjoying the fall colours there before we have to say good-bye until next spring.