Supporting natural lands conservation appeals to a number of our donors because of its long-term impact on the environmental health of our community. Once a piece of land is protected by the Hamilton Conservation Authority (HCA), it remains protected from bulldozers and development forever. With a legacy of protecting natural treasures such as the Beverly Swamp, Niagara Escarpment, Dundas Valley, Webster’s Falls and the Eramosa Karst, you can be confident that your donation is protecting land that will be properly and effectively managed for decades and centuries to come.
Land Acquisition
Climate change, urban sprawl and Hamilton’s rapid economic development demand that we act immediately to protect lands when opportunities to do so arise. HCA currently owns and manages over 10,000 acres of natural lands in the Hamilton watershed. While that represents a truly impressive land mass and contribution to our watershed’s green infrastructure, it represents only 9.4 per cent of our watershed’s land mass. In order to preserve our city’s long term success, we need to act now to protect Hamilton’s forests, meadows, streams and lakes and the thousands of diverse plants, insects and animals that call them home.
Donations to the Foundation’s land acquisition fund help HCA to respond immediately when natural lands come under threat of development. Funds have recently helped to protect beautiful and diverse natural spaces in the Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark System, at Iroquoia Heights Conservation Area and the Dundas Valley Conservation Area.
Natural Lands Management and Stewardship
Managing Hamilton’s natural lands and their spectacular features is not a job that HCA takes lightly. The constant encroachment of invasive species, the increasing urbanization around our natural lands and the changing climate require us to adapt to new challenges each and every day. Donations help us to better manage the ecological health of our natural lands and support restoration and demonstration projects.
Donations also help HCA to improve the ecological health of natural lands in private ownership. The Hamilton-Halton Watershed Stewardship Program, a regional partnership whose Hamilton efforts are run out of the HCA’s main offices, reaches out to connect landowners with all of the resources that they need to be responsible stewards of the natural features on their lands.