The Plant Conservation Easement Agreement (CEA) is an 83-acre property in Selwyn Township.

The mature hardwood forest on the land is home to an abundance of wild leeks and beautiful spring ephemerals. The hedgerows allow animals to move between fields and forests more freely and provide places for edge-loving birds to nest.

When KLT staff visited the property, Barn Swallows, an at-risk species in Ontario, were seen swooping over the hayfields as they foraged for insects.

The Plant CEA is helping to maintain healthy populations of pollinators through the diversity of blooming plants on the property, including Canada Goldenrod, Raspberry, Wild Grape, and others. Sightings of Silvery Blue, Common Ringlet, and Clouded Sulpher butterflies were viewed during KLT visits, as well as Tiger Swallowtail.

The 36 acres of agricultural land, which are also protected by the easement, are a positive sign for agriculture in Selwyn Township at a time when farmland is being lost to unsustainable development.

According to the 2016 Census of Agriculture, between 2006-2016, the number of farms in Peterborough County declined by 21% and rented farms declined by 17%.

We’re grateful to Dick and Susan Plant for partnering with KLT to protect nature and farmland in the Kawarthas for future generations.

This property was secured with support from Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund (NSCSF).

Canada’s Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund (NSCSF) is a $1.4 billion, ten-year fund (2021–2031) administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada to help conserve, restore, and enhance the management of ecosystems such as wetlands, forests, and grasslands, in order to help tackle the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. The NSCSF will focus on three main objectives: (1) conserving carbon-rich ecosystems at high risk of conversion to other uses that would release their stored carbon; (2) improving land management practices to reduce their greenhouse gas emission-causing impacts on Canada’s ecosystems; and (3) restoring degraded ecosystems. Overall, these projects will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and increased carbon sequestration, while also providing benefits for biodiversity and human well-being.