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At our March 27th AGM we said good-bye to three board members and welcomed two new directors to our board. Stepping down this year were Mary Vandenhoff, Howard Clifford,and Judy Buehler.
Howard was one of the founding members of MMLT and has been the President for the last 8 years. In speaking about Howard at the AGM, Michael MacPherson said that, “Howard gave the Land Trust ground on which to stand and grow, and the moral compass and integrity to deal with the many issues and complications such an organization runs into along the way.”
Mary was also one of the founding members of MMLT and was the “Minister of Everything”. Mary’s charm, her iron will and her astounding energy got things done. Whether she was securing grants, dealing with reporting requirements, overseeing the creation of the visitors’ centre or hosting the many public events that take place at High Lonesome, Mary has been indispensable and irreplaceable. Mary felt passionately about MMLT’s Vision to protect for all time the beautiful Mississippi-Madawaska wilderness where all species thrive and people engage with nature.
Judy Buehler was always the ‘go-to’ person on the Board, always ready to pitch-in and help out. She was always unflappable and good-natured producing the minutes, reviewing the draft brochures, contributing ideas, staffing the registration desk and always with a kind word and a warm welcome.
One of the incoming directors is Rob Longair. After retiring from a faculty position at University of Calgary, where he spent 27 years teaching a wide variety of courses, his favourite of which were field courses, he returned to the Ottawa area where he grew up. He now lives between Almonte and Carleton Place on an acre which he is letting revert to meadow from its formerly well-tended state. Rob has done field-work on biodiversity and conservation and on insect ecology and behaviour in Ontario and western Canada, parts of the United States and West Africa and Belize where he introduced students to the joys of tropical biodiversity, including insect life. Rob sees land trusts as a critical component in the protection of biodiversity of all types of flora and fauna.
We’re also pleased to welcome Robert Stearns to our board. Bob began his career as an agricultural researcher working in the field of animal diseases and immunology. His drive to share his passion for nature, science and discovery ultimately led him from the laboratory to the classroom, teaching high school biology and chemistry in Ottawa. A posting in Germany with DND sparked his move to international schools in Europe and Asia in school administration and construction projects. He is now in partial retirement working as a consultant for the International Schools Services in Princeton, NJ. Living in Almonte with his wife Yvonne, they now enjoy spending their time hiking and canoeing, traversing the local countryside and waterways seeking the quietude of wilderness.
We are delighted to welcome these two talented individuals to our board of directors while saddened to be losing such an enormous wealth of experience and knowledge in the three departing directors. However, all three departing directors have agreed to serve on the Emeritus Council so that we can benefit from their advice and good counsel.
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Howard Clifford has passed the Presidential mantle over to Bob Betcher who has served on the MMLT Board for the past 3 years.
Bob and his wife moved back to the Perth area in 2014 after leaving Ottawa in the early 1970’s for graduate work at the University of Waterloo followed by a 40 year career as a hydrogeologist in PEI, Manitoba and a few years in Port Hope. Part of each summer though was spent at the family cottage on Mississippi Lake, maintaining ties to this part of Ontario. An environmentalist at heart, in the later part of his career Bob became focused on the association between groundwater features and the ecological systems that they support, particularly in southern Manitoba where agriculture dominates the landscape and nature is often confined to scattered remnant Prairie potholes.
Retirement hobbies include riding his motorcycle, walking the dog, making maple syrup on his 5 wooded acres, fixing up the house and cottage, classical music, and volunteering. He is also attempting to improve his minimal biological identification skills so as not to feel too out of place with many of our members (tree identification first, then flowering plants, then birds if there is any time left). Bob currently volunteers with a number of national and local science and environmental groups but most of his efforts go toward achieving the MMLT vision of protecting large tracts of wilderness where Nature is left on her own, with only minimal interaction with humans. Howard’s tutelage has impressed him deeply and he hopes to work with the Board and our volunteers so that the organization continues to follow in the footsteps of our past president.
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Susan joined MMLT in 2008. The job required enormous attention to detail with CRA filings and data-processing and all the requirements that go with running a charity, and she kept it all operating smoothly. She also applied her flair for design to producing brochures and newsletters and to managing our website.
Members of the Board, both present and past, were able to get together recently at Temple’s to wish Susan well and to thank her for her many years of service. Susan’s skills, quiet intelligence, calm, friendly nature and sense of humour will be greatly missed by all who worked with her. We wish Susan great happiness!
Thank you Susan!
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We are very pleased to announce that Carolyn Piche has joined our team as the new administrator. Carolyn brings a wealth of knowledge to the position including experience with fundraising and financial databases, supporting boards and committees at all levels, purchasing, maintaining websites and social media platforms and more.
The competition for the position was extensive with over 70 applications received in response to our ad for candidates. Many of the submissions were very strong but Carolyn’s experience with the hospital foundations in Almonte and Carleton Place as well as her background with the Ottawa Rotary Home Foundation and the Dave Smith Youth Treatment Centre Foundation made her our first choice.
Carolyn says, “It is such an honour to work with an organization whose sole mandate is to preserve wild lands and the species who thrive there. What greater gift can we offer those who come after us."
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The MMLT is so grateful for the commitment of the many volunteers who contribute to the success of the organization. When people say 'we couldn't do it without you” it's true, we really couldn't.
We couldn't protect the forest, meadows, and wetlands of the Mississippi Madawaska Land
Trust and, with confidence acquire new lands when they become available. We couldn't monitor and manage our properties, clear trails, lead nature walks and organize the many wonderful events that offer nature experiences to the community at large. Especially, we couldn't raise the much needed funds to ensure the long-term conservation of our present and future lands in the Mississippi Madawaska watershed.
We thank all who have helped us in the past and who continue to do so. Especially, we want to recognize and honour two of our most outstanding volunteers:
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Dale Dilamarter volunteers at Rose Hill Nature Reserve.
The hills, lakes and wilderness of Addington Highlands and the Denbigh area have long been attractive to this Kingston resident. As a youngster his family spent summer vacations in the area. Later he, his wife and 2 small children camped at Bon Echo Provincial Park. Finally in 1983 they purchased a cottage on Ashby Lake off Highway #41 south of Denbigh.
MMLT’s Rose Hill Nature Reserve, only a 20 minute drive from the cottage, adds to the area’s attractiveness for Dale. Since 2014, when he helped construct the Hemlock Trail, Dale has volunteered at the Nature Reserve becoming the Volunteer Co-ordinator in 2017 and recruiting the active participation of local resident Sonny Fuller. Together in all seasons they have identified boundaries, marked and brushed trails, placed signs, monitored bio-acoustics, and kept a watchful eye on the property.
Dale contributed, along with Bethany Armstrong and Pat and John Hatton, to the acquisition of a small ‘bus property’ on the edge of the Reserve. The property had been long abandoned, derelict and overgrown. Dale orchestrated the sale of a broken down wreck of a bus for scrap and worked to clean-up the site which is allowing this part of the Reserve to return to a natural state.
Recently, Dale was appointed to MMLT’s Property Stewardship Committee where he undertook assessment of a possible property acquisition.
Dale strongly believes that small, well placed volunteer efforts have a ripple effect that benefit the health of an entire community. This is especially so when like-minded people join together to pursue goals and projects about which they are passionate.
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Jacquie Christiani, Volunteer sans pareil of High Lonesome Nature Reserve
We first met Jacquie back in 2013, when inspired by the concept of Bio Blitzes, she approached MMLT with an idea for a Creativity Blitz at the High Lonesome Nature Reserve. Her vision of this event was to promote nature appreciation and encourage visitors to be inspired by Nature and to explore their creativity. It would also serve as a fundraiser for MMLT. Little did she know how strongly this approach to Nature resonated with our land trust. Not only did Jacquie propose this initiative she recruited others to work with her to organize in meticulous detail all aspects of what became in spring 2014 the first of four such events. In 2018, under her tutelage, it was incorporated as an important component of the Festival of the Wild Child.
Jacquie is not only an organizational whiz, she also is a worker bee. When Ken Spicer was no longer able to mow the grass, Jacquie stepped up and for the past years has ensured that the area around the Welcome Centre and the parking area are kept well-trimmed. She helps clear the trails, haul away the trash, build the cabinets and bee hotels, whatever has to be done she cheerfully pitches in.
A woman of so many talents. But, we were still surprised and delighted when she offered to use her stonemasonry skills to cover the cement bases of the posts at the welcome centre – and construct this wonderful stone bench across from the Welcome Centre, a truly useful, beautiful and appropriate addition.
Dale and Jacquie – True MMLT heroes. Thank you!
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MMLT will again host a series of outdoor events at its properties this year. The line-up for 2019 includes 6 events at 4 locations. The number of participants will be capped for some events, so register early.
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN for the first event of the season, Discover Henry David Thoreau, sponsored by Hummingbird Chocolate Maker.
It will take place at Blueberry Mountain on Sunday, May 5th beginning at 10:00 am. In addition to the spectacular view from the mountain top, participants will be treated to a special presentation by the renowned philosopher and naturalist from the 1800s, Henry David Thoreau, who held a deeply-felt conviction that “in wilderness is the preservation of the world.” Thoreau’s writings were an inspiration to Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. His message of how to live so you will not discover at the end of your life you hadn’t lived at all has never been more relevant than today. Register on-line early for this re-enactment at mmlt.ca.
For the first time MMLT will be offering a discount for MMLT members. The fee for each event for non-members will be $15 whereas members pay only $10. A $5 discount will be available to event participants applying for new membership on site on the day of each event.
2019 Discover the Wild Events
May 5 Discover Henry David Thoreau at Blueberry Mountain
June 23 Discover Birds & Their Friends & Foes at High Lonesome Nature Reserve
July 14 Discover Wildflowers at Poole Family Nature Sanctuary
August 10 Discover the Heritage of Rose Hill Nature Reserve at Rose Hill Nature Reserve
August 24 & 25 Festival of the Wild Child at High Lonesome Nature Reserve
Sept TBA Discover Fabulous Fungi at Poole Family Nature Sanctuary
October 6 Discover Lovely Lichen at cliffLAND
October 6 Fall Colours Hike at Blueberry Mountain
October 19 Go Will Gala at the Grand Hotel, Carleton Place
For a complete list of events, visit mmlt.ca and click on Discover the Wild Series.
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Several of our members have made donations to the Land Trust calling them “travel miles” donations. This is a form of carbon offsetting by which these donors ‘balance’ their carbon-generating activities, such as driving or flying, through a contribution to MMLT’s work to preserve and protect our forests.
By protecting and preserving our forests, MMLT uses Nature, the best engineer to address climate change. Forests store a great deal of carbon, preserve clean water, soil and air, protect and promote biodiversity. Lands owned by MMLT are protected from deforestation and degradation due to conversion to other uses such as logging and urbanization. The added advantage is the permanence of the protection: 1,000 years of legal preservation of the lands under our stewardship.
Canadian emissions from fossil fuel consumption in 2010 were 536 million tonnes carbon dioxide, or about 15.7 tonnes per person. The average Canadian carbon footprint is about four times the global average. You can estimate your own carbon footprint and its offset cost using the calculator found on line at: https://calculator.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx?tab=3t
Using the calculator you would likely choose the option described as ”certified emission reduction”. For example a return air trip from Ottawa to Vancouver would produce a carbon offset price of $29.40. While we cannot provide an official carbon offset certificate for you it is good to know that your support of MMLT would be part of your efforts to address climate change.
Consider a “travel miles” donation today!
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