In 1997 Sandy Agnew bought 47 acres in Oro-Medonte township. He was attracted to the property because of its wetland. Shortly after he purchased it, he built a greenhouse and began propagating native plants. Trained in ecosystem restoration, he is an environmental activist and former local politician. He is also a bit of a neighbourhood organizer – for forests and wetlands.
Ontario offers significant property tax breaks to owners who agree to have a managed forest on their lot with a program called the Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program. Sandy became a certified Forest Plan Approver and started discussing habitat with his neighbours. Soon folks up and down the road were asking him to provide managed forest plans. With his own property, he established an easement with the Couchiching Conservancy for 39 of his 47 acres. This means those acres will never be allowed to be developed even if he sells.
The wetland that first caught Sandy’s eye is actually classified by the province as significant meaning it’s particularly crucial it’s protected. It serves as critical habitat for plant and animal species at risk of extinction while also helping to prevent flooding by providing a safe area for storm runoff storage. It constitutes a major part of the headwaters for Hogg Creek. Headwaters are a creek’s origin and often start from an underground source. The water here is colder and cleaner than you’ll find further downstream and hence is associated with a pristine wetland, essential to preserve. This one sits across multiple properties and since it’s unfit for building, Sandy suggested to a bordering neighbour, the land could be donated as well. It’s now protected by Huronia Land Conservancy.
Sandy and his partner Lynne have recently donated the easement portion of their property outright to Couchiching Conservancy. They wanted even stronger protection for the wetland and it will now remain a nature reserve forever. Lynne says this is her favourite time of year to view the wetland at the bottom of their property. The cool morning mists sink low in the hills and settle at the pond. She recalls a day one winter when there was a crack in the ice and three little otter heads popped up. They squirmed out onto the ice and over towards a beaver she’d been watching trudge across it. The otters wanted to play. The beaver did not.
Sandy is currently working with Severn Sound Environmental Association, the Couchiching Conservancy and other landowners to develop a plan to protect the Hogg Creek watershed and manage it sustainably. All but one of their neighbours now have managed forests on their lots, creating a corridor of connected wilderness in the community, allowing animal species to live and migrate more freely. Imagine the difference we could be making for future generations if we all had such a purpose?
