Landowner Options

Partners in Conservation Program

Unlock the good in your land.

All land in the Kawarthas is interconnected. Your land is part of a larger ecological picture that contributes to the health of our agricultural lands, forests, waterways, and wildlife. Your land will decide the future of our landscape.

The Partners in Conservation (PIC) Program is about thanking you for your land care and finding ways to support you in land care initiatives.

Now in our third year, KLT’s Partners in Conservation team has collaborated with dozens of landowners on projects across thousands of acres of land. The program inspires individual effort that contributes to a broader network of effort to care for land in the Kawarthas.

Why Partners in Conservation

KLT believes that thousands of landowners across the Kawarthas are ready to be inspired to unlock the good in their land and work together.

We would like to work together with you to create a sustainable future.

The Partners in Conservation Program understands the incredible value that the average landowner already provides to our landscape.

Landowners’ wetlands keep our water clean. Their meadows provide wildlife habitat. Their forests and fields support rural economies and sequester carbon. Their streams cross the landscape providing fish habitat.

The Partners in Conservation Program was created to build relationships with people and families that own land. Our commitment is to long-term collaboration. We will build on your values and the vision you have for your land and put it in the context of the needs of our landscape and collective future.

Through partnership we can protect a landscape we’re proud to give the next generation. 

How to Participate

Reach out to KLT’s Partners in Conservation team and share what’s special about your land and the vision you have for it. We’ll see if we can work together.

Steps to Participation

1. Contact us! Call or email us and let us know why you’re interested in the program or ask any questions you may have. We can be reached at info@kawarthalandtrust.org and 705-743-5599.

2. Inventory: KLT will conduct a property inventory and prepare a customized guide for you. The guide has maps and insight that reveal the value of your land as a piece of the larger puzzle that is our landscape. To see what the guides look like, review this example guide (PDF).

3. Planning: Together, we will explore and plan projects to support mutual environmental goals for your land.

4. Ongoing Support: Our staff help execute projects, share information relevant to your land and maintain a relationship with you and your land. KLT shares the efforts of all partners in conservation landowners with you to inspire a sense of collective impact.

Participating in KLT’s Partners in Conservation program will help ensure a healthier connected landscape in the Kawarthas for years to come. Email us at info@kawarthalandtrust.org.

Have questions about the program? Review our Partners in Conservation Program FAQ page.

Partners in Conservation Program Projects

The program has worked with landowners on everything from tree planting and shoreline restoration to soil health analysis, supporting sustainable management of agriculture and forestry land and much more.

Our initiatives are always guided by the interests or problems landowners are encountering. Many landowners contribute simply by continuing to protect their land as they have for generations.

Not everyone will take an active role in improving their land – some land simply doesn’t need it. For lands that do, here are the types of projects we can work together on.

Forests

  • Thinning planted pine forests.
  • Planting to replenish or supplement an aging forest.
  • Assisted migration of Carolinian species in anticipation of climate change impacts.
  • Sustainable timber management.

Meadows

  • Mowing to prevent forest expansion to maintain at-risk meadow species.
  • Native grasses and wildflower planting.
  • Birdhouses and/or bat boxes for species at risk.

Wetlands

  • Planting vegetation buffer to fight against erosion and helping to prevent algal blooms.
  • Wood Duck nesting boxes.
  • Creating ponds for waterfowl use.

Waterways

  • Planting vegetation to help filter pollutants.
  • Plant trees to shade waterway to preserve water temperature for cold-water streams, etc.
  • Perched culvert adjustment for fish access.
  • Channel restoration. 

Agricultural

  • Help monitor soil health.
  • Implement cover crops to reduce soil erosion and increase carbon sequestration.
  • Fence livestock from waterways.
  • Build stream crossings for livestock and machinery.
  • Create and enhance windbreaks between fields. Delayed first-cut hay harvest for Eastern Meadowlarks and Bobolinks.

General Projects for All Landscape Types

  • Invasive species removal.
  • Surveys for species of importance
  • Connecting landowners with researchers and special interest groups.
  • Creation or maintenance of publicly accessible trails.