Celia Hart lives in Toronto but birds have her heart. Once at a cottage, a friend’s dad said there were wild canaries in the forest. Doubtful, she bought a field book. They were yellow warblers. She was hooked.
One day while out in High Park, she stumbled upon some older gentlemen staring at the sky. Curious, she asked what they were doing. They were counting migrating hawks.
Bird Counts help scientists track populations to detect trends and inform conservation. They might record more Starlings (invasive) or fewer Swallows (specific habitat needs). Interestingly, they’re usually done by people who are birders by hobby and might actually be chefs, teachers or even circus performers.
Celia became friends with one of the birders, Don. A kind man her father’s age, he encouraged her learning. She found she quite liked birds. At the time, she was a union president and really appreciated they never emailed her with problems.
She started joining the men on the hill, who welcomed her junior eyes that made her a good spotter. Something neat began to happen as well. With a younger woman as part of the birding troupe in High Park, more people stopped and asked questions. Celia would chat with families and walkers and people began to regularly ask about the birds. Her birding began to create a new social life.
Celia took her first trip to The Carden Alvar in Kawartha Lakes. Alvars are rare landscapes of limestone and very little soil, which isn’t great for trees, but is ideal for the insects and plants threatened grassland birds like Meadowlarks and Bobolinks depend on. They are also desired quarry sites because of their limestone.
The birds, wildflowers, and community Celia found on the Carden Alvar captured her heart. Before eBird or Merlin, the birders and botanists all learned from each other – veterans helping newbies, and people of all ages and trades connecting over a shared love of the land. It was that day that Celia learned about the organization behind the outing – The Couchiching Conservancy.
We’re a land trust that protects natural landscapes in the Orillia area to ensure they will never be developed. In 2019 we introduced the Corridors Campaign, an initiative that raised money to protect environmentally sensitive land along migration paths so the species essential to our ecosystem have protected habitat. Celia was impressed with this conservation strategy and became a monthly donor. She donates to many different environmental organizations, but told me she likes that we are local, friendly and effective.
The Conservancy is trying to tackle the biggest problems of our time: climate change and biodiversity loss. These are so big they’re hard to think about. But they will only be solved when passionate community groups rally enough support to get the attention of government. Support is demonstrated through donors and volunteers. We have hundreds of both. Please consider becoming one of our monthly donors, like Celia, to boost our resources to protect more land in your area.
The Couchiching Conservancy is a non-profit land trust that protects over 15 000 acres of land in the Orillia region.
