Kawartha Land Trust’s (KLT) Cedar Stand Society is a group of passionate nature lovers who have generously chosen to give a gift through their will to support Kawartha Land Trust’s conservation efforts in the Kawarthas. Their future gifts will ensure the protection and care of the natural and working lands of the Kawarthas for future generations.
Cedar Stand Society Members: Ron Awde and Robert Ertel
The rolling green hills of the Bethany area in Kawartha Lakes are breathtaking. And in that verdant, picturesque landscape is Sheidow Farm – a 200-acre farm that was protected in 2017 through a conservation easement agreement by owners Ron Awde and Robert Ertel.
The property lies on the north edge of the Oak Ridges Moraine and features a small spring, creek, wetlands, forest, and vital agricultural land. 120 acres of the property’s woodland corridors are being carefully restored to improve the health of the forest and wildlife habitat.
Ron and Robert have made many important contributions to conservation in the Kawarthas.
They protected their farm with an easement in 2017, are incredible caretakers of their land having planted over 75,000 trees, are members of KLT’s Partners in Conservation program, and are monthly Pollinator donors, helping to support KLT’s core conservation work. Ron also served as KLT’s Chair of the Board from 2013-2014.
Time spent on family farms while they were growing up instilled a deep respect for nature and a responsibility for nurturing it that is still evident in their care of the land today.
Among their many commitments to nature is a legacy gift to KLT to help us maintain the lands already under our care and protect new nature reserves.
“Legacy giving allows us the ability to give more to organizations we are passionate about,” they shared.
“We have a supportive family who also understand the importance of conservation to us and the need to invest in the community interest.”
Ron and Robert shared that they feel that the opportunity to live in populated areas in balance with nature is rapidly disappearing. “We owe it to the other species we share the planet with to make some room for them and protect their right to survive and thrive.”
Through their legacy gift, they will do just that – ensuring that more natural places in the Kawarthas are protected for future generations.
“Nature has made a point over the past years that if we don’t protect it, it will not protect or even tolerate us.”
Ron and Robert maintain hope and positivity about the state of nature in the Kawarthas and offer the following advice to others considering a gift to KLT through their final estate.
“We believe in the mission and the work well beyond our own limited days on earth. It is a message of confidence in the future of our community and in the moral necessity of conservation. Legacy giving is the best way of knowing that what we have spent a lifetime of working for will actually make all of our efforts mean something in the end.”
From everyone at Kawartha Land Trust, we offer our enduring gratitude to Ron and Robert for their vision and care for nature and to donors like you who are making a tangible difference on our shared landscape.
Each year, we welcome new Cedar Stand Society members to KLT. If you would like to learn more about legacy giving options and how you can support nature through a gift through your will, please contact John Kintare, Executive Director, at 705-743-5599, ext. 2, or email him at [email protected]. You can also visit our Legacy Giving page on our website.
Main photo: Sheidow Farm. Inset image: Robert Ertel (L) and Ron Awde (R), Sheidow Farm, 2021.
