Port Rowan, ON (June 27, 2023)
Thanks to a $2.65 million bequest, the Long Point Basin
Land Trust (LPBLT) is launching a major conservation campaign to
significantly increase and enhance protected lands in its catchment
area. This seven-year effort is aligned with the Canadian Government’s
goal of conserving 30 percent of Canada’s land and water by 2030 to
reverse the decline in biodiversity and to adapt to climate change.
The generous bequest was made by the late Fred Jonckheere, of
Langton. A local businessman and self-taught naturalist, Fred was an
editor of an illustrated tree- identification book entitled Rare, Threatened,
and Endangered Trees of Haldimand – Norfolk. It was published as a
pocket field guide so that tree-markers and loggers could identify
those Carolinian tree species that should be unharmed, because their
rarity was of far greater value living than in their board feet. Fred worked
tirelessly in other ways as a defender of trees and forests with colleagues
in the Norfolk Field Naturalists.
“We have added seven Nature Reserves over the past seven years and intend to
match or exceed that achievement by 2030 to protect the rich biodiversity and habitats
of the Long Point Basin area”, said Peter Carson, the LPBLT’s president and founder.
“The Jonckheere family’s generosity has given us a solid financial basis for setting such
an ambitious goal.”
The Jonckheere’s legacy gift will be leveraged by LPBLT to secure more
natural areas and better protect and steward our existing Reserves in
perpetuity. Funds from this bequest contributed towards the purchase of
the Stackhouse Forest Sanctuary in 2022 and LPBLT Board has allocated
$1.5 million from the bequest for future land acquisitions. Additional funds
are being held in reserve for operational financing and for special
opportunities to address other priorities identified in the LPBLT’s 2021-
25 Strategic Plan.
For more information about the Land Trust’s recent activities and
finances, please see our 2022 Annual Report.
About the Long Point Basin Land Trust
Long Point Basin Land Trust, a charitable non-government organization, was founded in
1996 with a mission to protect and restore functioning ecosystems in the central
Carolinian Region. This is accomplished through land ownership, land management and
nature stewardship. LPBLT currently protects thirteen nature reserves, totaling 843
acres. The Land Trust’s Explore the Outdoors program provide opportunities for people
to connect with nature through hands-on outdoor experiences.
Media contact:
Rick Levick
Executive Director
Long Point Basin Land Trust
Email: executivedirector@longpointlandtrust.ca
Phone: 519-586-8309
