North Dumfries/Cambridge - If you have a basic knowledge of flora and fauna and desire to learn more while spending time in a beautiful outdoor environment, you might want to get down to the rare charitable Research Reserve. Thanks to funding from Environment Canada’s Eco Action Community Funding Program and the hiring of a Land Steward, Josh Shea, the Volunteer Land Stewards Project is ready to launch.

This program, like many of the programs occurring at rare, will forge new partnerships between community members, local experts, and dedicated volunteers to build rare’s capacity to do work in restoration ecology, habitat conservation and community education.

“We’re thrilled to have Josh on board at rare. His education and work experience are real assets to our team, but what’s really important, and the reason I think he’ll be a great fit in our organization, is his attitude,” says Patti Leather, rare’s Executive Director. Ms Leather added, “Josh is thorough, energetic, and passionate about his work and his other involvements speak to his well-rounded skills.” Josh has been an environmental interpreter, is a member of the Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists, spends a great deal of his free time outdoors and is an avid birder.

The Land Stewards Project is a two-year project designed to increase the capacity of both the community and rare to protect the 913-acre Reserve, which is part of an Environmentally Sensitive Landscape (ESL), by combining restoration ecology and environmental education.

Now, rare is eager to begin the recruitment and training of a specialized group of volunteers that will provide the hands-on knowledge and necessary resources to implement and monitor restoration priorities that are critical to the ecological integrity of the Reserve. The Volunteer Land Stewards will receive extensive training, participate in workshops and lectures and learn such topics as basic geography and hydrogeology of the Reserve and surrounding area, basic ecological restoration (including what it is, why it’s done and some of the history of restoration at rare), water quality monitoring, tree and shrub identification, plant identification, and bird identification. Using this information and knowledge, the Volunteer Land Stewards will assist with restoration and monitoring projects, lead outings or hikes and provide valuable educational opportunities to their fellow community members.

“Many people wish to make real contributions to the well-being of their community and natural environment, and this opportunity offers the chance for local citizens to take real ‘eco action’. They will learn about their environment, do real work to improve it and educate their fellow community members as it all happens,” explains Josh Shea, rare’s new Land Steward. “This program develops a framework and means by which the activities and benefits of the project will be sustainable and enhance our community’s capacity to affect long-term environmental change both at rare and throughout Waterloo Region.”

When asked about the value of this program, Bill Wilson a rare Environmental Advisory Team member responded by saying, "At the heart of every 'green space' secured for future generations is not only its inherent aesthetic appeal but also a community of committed individuals who understand that we protect and sustain that which we come to know and love. Little did I know 35 years ago that my monitoring and documenting of the natural history of two local Environmentally Sensitive Policy Areas (ESPAs) at the confluence of the Grand and Speed Rivers would contribute to the establishment of rare Charitable Research Reserve and to the Blair-Bechtel-Cruickston Environmentally Sensitive Landscape (ESL2) of which they are significant components."

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.

The lands held in trust by rare – 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 that feeds a Chain of Learning, involving students of all ages and community members.

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. Lectures, tours and guided walks on rare’s trails are held throughout the year and the property constantly attracts and inspires artistic endeavours.