Property Info

The Dattels Reserve is a beautiful 10-acre island located along Pointe au Baril's Hemlock Channel. The property is a combination of rock barren and open forest with two extensive coastal wetlands. This combination of communities provides ideal habitat for many of eastern Georgian Bay’s reptile species at risk.

The first half of the Dattels Reserve came to be in 2009, when neighbour Jennifer Dattels purchased the eastern side of the undeveloped island and donated it to the Georgian Bay Land Trust. After waiting for nearly a decade, says Jennifer, “my dreams were realized last year when the western half of the island came up for sale, allowing for a further purchase and donation to the Georgian Bay Land Trust. This made the Dattels Reserve complete at last. It is my pleasure to have protected the island from development, and to have preserved the natural beauty of Hemlock Channel.”

Situated in an area that includes both cottage development and neighbouring protected spaces, including the large Shawanaga Island Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area just across the channel, the Dattels Reserve is an important link in Pointe au Baril’s network of conserved habitats for its many native species. Thank you so much to donor Jennifer Dattels for your generosity, vision, and commitment!