Another rare Landmark Gets an Anonymous Helping Hand

North Dumfries/Cambridge - Rare thanks an anonymous donator for more than $1,000,000 donation, which brings community one large step closer to realizing the vision for a 913-acre parcel of land right in the heart of our fast-growing community.

The vision was first articulated by Matthew Wilks Keefer who donated the land to the University of Guelph. Now owned on behalf of the public by the rare Charitable Research Reserve, the land is home to scientific research that feeds a Chain of Learning, involving even our youngest community members in an education program called Every Child Outdoors.

In addition to supporting the research at the top of the Chain of Learning, this gift will allow the charity to own outright the historic Lamb's Inn building in Blair, ensuring the survival of a well-known and beloved landmark. Built in 1837, Lamb's Inn has a provincial heritage designation and is probably best remembered as Nicholson's Tavern, a place where local music talent often got a start. The charity bought the building in 2005 from a local couple who operated their business out of the facility until then, and who also held the mortgage. The Charity has since used the building to house its administration, and to host public research lectures, campaign events, and community gatherings.

The new donor learned about rare through friends and felt rare's emphasis on research, especially the opportunities this research provides for students of all ages, was important and wanted to help.

“Paying off the mortgage is a good long term move for us, saving years of interest payments. It's also wonderful in the short term since it reduces our monthly operating costs significantly and lets us focus more on our programs,” said rare's Executive Director, Patti Leather. “It just makes such good business sense; rare is a unique charity in that it owns valuable assets in its land and historic buildings, but these assets, which we steward on behalf of our community, can be enormously costly.”

Just a few months ago, another gift to the Reserve was in the papers. Last fall, The Lyle S. Hallman Foundation, a leading proponent of health, particularly amongst children, announced a grant of $165,000 in support of Every Child Outdoors. The grant was conditional on rare being able to raise a matching sum for associated needs, including renovations to the historic, circa 1840s, limestone Slit Barn. The community responded and the matching funds were secured, giving a good start to the project.

Despite remaining anonymous, the donor of the most recent gift hopes that, “the community support will continue and rise to the challenge and contribute to the Stone Barn renovation in time for the school year in September.”

“We are thrilled about the community's response. So many people are determined to help us repair the barn and renovate the companion farm house for classroom and washroom facilities. There are only a very few such barns left in Ontario, and it's a beloved landmark in this area. Now this major anonymous gift provides relief just down the road and starts to make the Reserve into a complex that can be accessible to everyone,” Ms. Leather added.

The Slit Barn, Lamb's Inn and other Every Child Outdoors facilities will give up to 20,000 students in the next 4 years the opportunity to learn hands-on about the ecological restoration, soil remediation and water-quality testing work done at rare.

The charity's Board Chair, Keith Ainsworth, applauded this first-time donor's generosity and far-sighted vision for the community, “Helping us reduce our operating expenses is key to our ability to focus on community programs. It's not something visible and so not everyone recognizes its importance. Thanks to this generous donor, Lamb's Inn and key operating expenses are secured. Now we can re-double our efforts on the Slit Barn. We are very close to expanding significantly the accessibility of this amazing piece of land and all it has to offer. With just a few more donations directed to the Barn, we will be able to finalize architectural drawings. We are pushing hard for September, but it will be tight.”

Donors will have their names permanently displayed at the Reserve at the end of the campaign. In addition, two lucky donors will be drawn to be part of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Donations can be made to honour loved ones on special occasions and even kids can get involved with the “turn-the-map-green” campaign at www.raretome.ca .

Community members and businesses can call Christine Rier, Community Relations Manager for rare at 519-650-9336 ext 111 for more information or can contribute on-line at www.raretome.ca.

Founded in 2001, the rare Charitable Research Reserve exists to preserve, in perpetuity, 913 acres of environmentally significant land, in one of the fastest growing areas of the country. Located at the confluence of the Grand and Speed Rivers and within the designated Blair-Bechtel-Cruickston Environmentally Sensitive Landscape, rare is not only a beautiful landscape but includes trees more than 230 years old and provides over 24 habitat types - including 6 of 8 pre-settlement landscapes - that are home to a diversity of organisms some of which are species at risk regionally, provincially, nationally and globally. Its lands - including upland and lowland deciduous forests with some old growth and replacement woods, floodplains, upland croplands, cliffs, and alvars - provide a natural laboratory for scientific study, research-based education programs, archaeology and trails.

The charity is in the middle of a $17 million campaign to preserve the land, renovate the historic buildings and offer programs to the public. Guided walks, tours and lectures are held at rare throughout the year and scientific research, along with companion education programs for even the youngest students, is ongoing at a number of sites on the property.