Board of Directors

Peter was born in Ancaster to parents who appreciated and encouraged his interest in the natural world. Starting in 1985 Peter was able to exit a business-based life and devote most of his time, along with his partner Mary, to projects that enhance or help protect biodiversity. Over the years being on the boards of the Norfolk Field Naturalists, Carolinian Canada, Tall Grass Ontario, Federation of Ontario Naturalists that became Ontario Nature, Ontario Nature Trust Alliance that became Ontario Land Trust Alliance and The Wildlands League he developed an understanding of the strengths and short comings of board governance. These experiences have also allowed Peter to build a network of like-minded friends and colleagues. He was one of five founders of Long Point Basin Land Trust which was started to develop protection for the significant and important natural areas of Norfolk and Haldimand Counties. Peter feels privileged to have worked with many who share this vision.

Glenn Coon and his wife Pam moved to the Port Rowan area in 1987. They are both graduates of the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto. Together they owned and operated Port Rowan Pharmasave for twenty-five years. Glenn enjoys spending time on his farm managing two wonderful Alternate Land Use Services (ALUS) projects near Backus Conservation Area. Glenn and Pam are often traveling North America in their camper and abroad on mission work with various ministries. Glenn joined the LPBLT Board of Directors in 2018.

Audrey Heagy has served on the LPBLT Board of Directors since 2011 and has been in the Treasurer role since 2020. Her present work is as an independent consultant managing habitat restoration projects, coordinating Species at Risk recovery activities, and undertaking technical writing projects. She has served as a volunteer, director, and officer for many environmental non-profit organizations in the past and is currently a director of the Norfolk Woodlot Owners Association.

Stephen has been on the Board of LPBLT since 2015 and serves as Secretary of the Board. He came to Norfolk County in 1988 and lives in Windham. His varied careers have included supply teaching, leatherwork, and canoe building; now he keeps busy supervising a fundraising bookstore and spending as much time as possible in nature.

Kerrie is the manager of Project FeederWatch and the Great Backyard Bird Count at Birds Canada. Her role is to connect people with nature through birds. Both of these programs allow people to turn their bird feeding and bird watching hobbies into research for conservation. Prior to this role with Project FeederWatch, she studied waterfowl diets and energetics at Long Point and invasive phragmites through Birds Canada’s Long Point Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Program. Over twenty years ago, Kerrie and her family moved to the Long Point area primarily because of their love for its natural features and biodiversity.

Len grew up on a tobacco farm southeast of Langton and has been a Norfolk resident almost all his life. Much of his working career was as a Stationary Engineer and Process Operator at Stelco Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke, from which he took early retirement in 2009. Big Creek ran through the back of their farm and there were several cold-water trout streams. His love of nature began from exploring the woods and streams around him and learning the flora and fauna that lived there as well as fishing whenever he had the chance. Having been a member of the Norfolk Field Naturalists on and off since the 1970s Len took a more active role upon retirement and is presently the Program and Outings Director. He also volunteers at the bird banding station at Old Cut on Sundays during the Spring and Fall migration as a member of the Friends of the Long Point Bird Observatory. Jan and Len have participated in the snake survey for Long Point Basin Land Trust for several years at Long Point Provincial Park. Len and his wife love to travel and camp as often as possible. They have visited many provincial parks as well as state parks in New York and Michigan through the years. Len and his wife are both avid photographers and are both on the executive for the Woodstock Camera Club.

Joe has served on the Long Point Basin Land Trust since 2011.  He was Treasurer of the Land trust until 2020.  He also served as Secretary and then as President of the Otter Valley Naturalists for several years.  In both organizations he became aware of the need to strengthen and enhance nature.  At home he planted dozens of native plants to attract nature to it.  Joe continues as a Director of the Land Trust.

Adam grew-up in Norfolk County exploring many of the natural areas honing his skills as a birdwatcher and all-around naturalist. As a professional, Adam has worked as a biologist on a wide range of bird and wildlife related projects with consultants, government agencies, and NGOs. On his farm near Long Point he has restored his agricultural fields to tallgrass prairie and oak savannah, providing habitat to countless species of insects and grassland birds. He operates a native plant nursery on site and sells native plants and wildflowers to people looking to create a little habitat of their own.

Mary was raised on a livestock farm in the Dundas Valley, Ontario, where her parents encouraged her to explore nature and art. She received an Honours Zoology BSc. ‘73 degree from University of Guelph. Mary carried out field research, biological inventories and expeditions on birds, herpetofauna and mammals in Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Cameroon. In Canada, she carried out biological inventories in Banff National Park, Halton, Norfolk and Haldimand Counties. Mary and Peter Carson purchased an 80 ha farm in Norfolk in 1990 and developed a native plant nursery and techniques to carry out seed-based ecological restoration projects on over 700 ha. During these activities Mary has taken time to share knowledge with researchers and students in post-graduate studies, served on various conservation-based NGO boards and science committees. She has provided expert advice on restoration projects including on oil pipeline routes and 400 series highways. Mary has authored or co-authored over 50 project reports and publications. She brings to Long Point Basin Land Trust high-level knowledge of local biodiversity, ecological restoration techniques and policies for managing and protecting sensitive natural areas.

A “Long Pointer” since age 3, Rick offers more than 40 years of experience in public relations, project and non-profit management and science outreach to local organizations and projects. He has a Masters degree in Journalism from the University of Western Ontario and is accredited with the Public Relations Society of Canada. Rick currently serves on the Board of Directors of Nature’s Calling Environmental Education, He is also a member of the Road Ecology working group of the Long Point Walsingham Forest Priority Place initiative and serves on the steering committee of the Silver Lake Revitalization Project in Port Dover. He was a founding director of NCEE’s nascent organization Kids for Turtles Norfolk and was President of the Long Point Biosphere Region from 2018 to 2021 and a director of the Canadian Biosphere Reserves Association and previously was the Coordinator of the Long Point Causeway Improvement Project from 2007 to 2017.  In 2020, Rick’s work was recognized by Ontario Nature with the Ian Shenstone Frazer Memorial Award for making a significant contribution toward a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Ontario.

David is an award winning architect based in Toronto whose work is based in a long-term interest in environment, ecology and sustainable design.His architectural work has included the Bird Studies Canada Headquarters at Long Point, The Rainforest Discovery Centre adjacent to the Panama Canal, the Canadian Museum of Inuit Art in Toronto, the Tropical Forest Science Center for the Smithsonian Institution in Panama. Prior to working in architecture, David worked for Long Point Bird Observatory/Bird Studies Canada and the Ornithology Department for the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. This work led to a life-long commitment to conservation which started with restoring Oak Savanna in Norfolk County and led to conservation work in Latin America, including co-founding the Jocotoco Foudnation which has protected over 28,000 hectares of land in Ecuador and the Galapagos. For the past 17 years, David and his wife Willa Wong have been restoring a former 95 acre tobacco farm in Norfolk County to Black Oak Savanna / Prairie which is now one of the most diverse restored prairie / meadow sites in southern Ontario with over 200 native plant species. Numerous rare and endangered animal and insect species have returned to the site, which is part of a larger mosaic of 5000 acres of protected land owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Long Point Basin Land Trust.

Jason Bernardon is a Senior Manager, Corporate Real Estate Transactions & Strategy with Bank of Montreal and is a graduate of the MBA program at the Schulich School of Business. Jason has recently moved to Norfolk and enjoys the many trails and natural heritage the area has to offer. Prior to joining the LPBLT Board of Directors in 2022, Jason was a board member with the North American Native Plant Society and the arts organization, The Toronto Consort.