At The Couchiching Conservancy we are in the business of protecting land. From Kawartha Lakes to Oro-Medonte, from Ramara to the Township of Severn we work to keep nature close to home, and for residents of Riverdale Drive in Washago our newest nature reserve will do just that.
We are thrilled to announce new Mitchell Bruce Nature Reserve will be official this December! This stunning 34 hectares of rock barren and marshland is home to common loons, tree frogs, great crested flycatchers, and a plethora of other species. It connects to not one, but two pre-existing nature reserves creating a 123 hectare forest! (That’s 123 Orillia Home Depots!)
The Mitchell Bruce Nature Reserve shares a property line with The Conservancy’s existing Alexander Hope Smith (AHS) Nature Reserve. AHS boasts a well-trod 3.2 km trail, popular with neighbours and visitors to the area alike. Not only are the nature reserves connected but they create a space in all four seasons for families, friends and neighbours to make memories by heading out for a walk, watching a heron stalk its prey, or spotting moose tracks in the snow.
These magical moments are thanks to corridors of connected wilderness that allow species to move freely through their natural habitats, this new nature reserve will give people the chance to live with nature and will give nature a meaningful foothold in the community. Although the Mitchell Bruce Nature Reserve will not be open to the public, it provides respite and healthy habitat for species to live as they are meant to. This generous gift to the community means that the turtles, bats and beaver we know and love to see will be spotted there for generations to come.
This is all thanks to donors Leslie and Irene Bruce, long time owners of the property who have taken impeccable care of it. The Mitchell Bruce Nature Reserve is named for Leslie and Irene’s son. He was a passionate teacher who found meaning teaching science and robotics in remote Indigenous communities in Northern Canada, he also enjoyed adventure and the outdoors. Mitchell’s passion for the outdoors will be honoured forever by the generous donation his parents have made and it is important to the family, as it would have been to him, that the community knows this land is the territory of the Anishinaabe.
Nature reserves are places where neighbours can become friends, where tadpoles can metamorphose into frogs and where 46 hectares of wilderness protected in 2006 can become 123 hectares protected in 2023. They grow and change and somehow stay the same.
If you want to support our work, keeping nature close to home, please consider a donation as we fundraise to support the stewardship of the Mitchell Bruce Nature Reserve and by visiting our website, www.couchichingconserv.ca.
Courtney Baker is the Office and Acquisition Coordinator at The Couchiching Conservancy, protecting nature for future generations.
