You can be a part of a unique opportunity to create more nature in your community!
Thames Talbot Land Trust (TTLT) and Long Point Basin Land Trust (LPBLT) are thrilled to announce the Hawk Cliff Woods: Expanding Nature's Horizons campaign. This campaign will support a new 30-hectare project that will expand the natural area at the north end of Hawk Cliff Woods, an existing TTLT nature reserve on the shores of Lake Erie in Elgin County.
Join us in expanding nature's horizons.
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The project is the vision of Cheryl Barendregt whose family has lived and thrived on the land since the 1950’s. The farm was the family’s livelihood and the woods their classroom. Cheryl’s children, and now grandchildren, explore the woods and meadows, finding salamanders, admiring butterflies, and listening to bird song. Cheryl first collaborated with TTLT in 2016 to protect the 93-hectare block of mostly wooded ravines. This new project will see portions of the land restored to a vibrant and diverse natural habitat, complementing the existing woodland and meadow habitats, and completing the original vision of protecting and restoring the entirety of Hawk Cliff Woods.
Hawk Cliff Woods is home to a wide diversity of species including 15 species at risk, several of which will benefit from the creation of additional habitat. Grasslands are some of the most endangered habitat types in Canada and this project will create over 25 hectares of new grasslands, which will provide a wide array of benefits to species, such as Monarch, Brown Myotis, and Bobolink, that rely on large blocks of this rare habitat. In addition, the restoration project will provide services to the local community such as carbon sequestration, pollinator habitat, and recreational opportunities.
To complete the protection of these new lands, TTLT and LPBLT need to raise $273,000 to reach their $2 million campaign goal. The funds will support the protection, restoration and long-term care of the lands ensuring the permanent protection of wildlife and natural features at Hawk Cliff Woods.
Donations to the campaign can be made through TTLT by mail or online.
Photos courtesy of Brian Fehr and Cheryl Barendregt