GBLT Upcoming News & Events
"My mother Joan was given the island as a wedding present many years ago by her grandfather. Her family picnicked on it many times every summer as did other local cottagers. She always thought that it was too nice an island to leave to one person. She wanted everyone to be able to enjoy it. And so before Joan died she gave it to the Nature Conservancy of Canada who then granted it to the Georgian Bay Trust Foundation.
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Interested in a summer job in conservation?
We are continuing our summer student programs this year, hiring two individuals to help us with our stewardship, education and outreach programs based primarily in the communities of Wah Wah Taysee, Go Home Bay and Cognashene. More information is available here
Incoming Executive Director of the GBLT
We are pleased and excited to be able to announce the appointment of Mark Carabetta as the Executive Director of the Georgian Bay Land Trust (GBLT).
Mark has over 17 years of experience with the conservation community in both the United States and Canada. His career includes working as an Ecologist and Director of Conservation Science at the Connecticut chapter of The Nature Conservancy and for the past five years, he has worked as the Conservation Science Manager for Ontario Nature. In his recent role with Ontario Nature he built and managed their nature reserve system including 22 nature reserves and two conservation easements and provided expertise and support on stewardship, restoration, mapping and multi stakeholder initiatives.
Mark also currently serves as a Governor on the Ontario Land Trust Alliance Board, leading the Board Development committee and has volunteered with a variety of conservation organizations including the Field Botanists of Ontario.
Mark joined the GBLT team in November. We would also like to thank Wendy Cooper, our outgoing Executive Director who will complete eight successful years with the GBLT, for all her outstanding contributions, dedication and hard work over the years.
Winterlude, February 2, 2012
Friends of the Georgian Bay Land Trust are invited to an off-season reunion and viewing of “West Wind: The vision of Tom Thomson”; a visually stunning and thoughtful documentary of Tom Thomson with introduction and Q & A with film writer, Nancy Lang.
Filmed in Algonquin Park, Georgian Bay, Toronto and Seattle, “West Wind” is a portrait of Thomson as a young, developing artist and is as beautiful to look at as Thomson's interpretations. This 90-minute documentary features never-before-seen paintings by this gifted Canadian artist and rare archive recordings and written memories of those who knew Tom Thomson.
Winterlude will be held at Bishop Strachan School on Thursday, February 2nd, 2012. Join your Bay friends for some food at drinks at 6:00pm. More details to follow.
Friends of the GBLT family are welcome. Due to a limited capacity at the facility, we encourage you to arrive at 6 pm. Donations are welcome!
Bishop Strachan School
298 Lonsdale Road
Parking in Lonsdale Circle at the front of the school or on the Russell
Hill side.
Entrance by the Lonsdale Road doors only.
Feb 2, 2012
The faces of the 2011 Bayscapes Photography Auction
We snapped some great pics of the auction action! Check out our gallery
Birds of Georgian Bay Poster: Now On Sale
Selecting the winning photographs for our Birds of Georgian Bay poster was no easy task. We recieved over 70 submissions and have selected the best 25 to grace our new poster.
Funds generated from the sales of our posters go towards supporting the activities and projects of the GBLT. With your support, we can preserve and protect the unique flora, fauna and habitat of Georgian Bay that we all love.
Call the office at 416-440-1519 x 3 to order your poster today. Posters can be mailed to you or arranged to be picked up at the office.
Rolled poster: $ 20
Plaqued poster: $ 50
The GBLT completes its first ever donation of land through American Friends of Canadian Land Trusts (AF)
The Georgian Bay Land Trust (GBLT) and American Friends of Canadian Land Trusts (AF) have successfully completed the first ever donation of land through an unique partnership which allows Canadian land trusts such as GBLT to work with American landowners who wish to donate land or interests in land in Canada and receive similar tax benefits as Canadian donors.
The donation includes the majority of Ingersoll Island, a 50 acre island that is located along the eastern shore of Sandy Island, which includes a 425 acre nature reserve owned and stewarded by the GBLT. The shore of Ingersoll Island is continuous with Sandy Island and therefore shares similar attributes including extensive deposits of sand, and a high diversity of regionally and nationally significant species. Together, the properties provide important habitat for both floral and fauna species, including several species at risk such as the Eastern Fox Snake.
Ingersoll Island along with Nash and Joiner Islands comprise the Sandy Island Natural Area which is located west of Parry Island at the south end of the Township of The Archipelago. This Area has been identified by the Ministry of Natural Resources as a provincially significant wetland and as a provincially significant Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI).
The island was donated by two sisters who live in Massachusetts, Mary Nelson and Polly Naughton.
The GBLT’s ongoing stewardship of Ingersoll Island will support the natural functions and processes of the island in combination with the adjacent Sandy Island Reserve conserving this unique natural area supports important habitat for communities and species ranging in significance from regional to globally rare. The volunteer steward team in place for the Sandy Island Reserve will take on the role of stewarding the new Ingersoll Island Reserve as well.
The GBLT led the way in implementing this cross-border process of facilitating land donations. The gift of Ingersoll Island is the first land donation in Canada to come through American Friends. At least 10 more properties across Canada are currently under consideration for cross-border land donation.
The Georgian Bay Land Trust seeks to preserve the unique archipelago and the adjacent water bodies which lie along the eastern shore and North Channel of Georgian Bay that are of ecological, geological and historical importance, and to promote the appreciation of this special area.