Monthly Archive

Reception celebrates 50 years of Foley Mountain

WESTPORT, Sept. 29, 2023 – Foley Mountain Conservation Area officially marked its 50^th anniversary with a community reception on Friday, Sept. 22 – in the very same spot it celebrated its official opening in 1973. 

Past and present RVCA staff and board members, special guests, local residents and community partners gathered at the Interpretive Centre to reminisce about the conservation area’s long history in the community.

The 833-acre site, owned and operated by the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA), was acquired in 1970 thanks to a donation from prominent Westport resident Harold Foley, who wished to see the property remain natural. Other land donations, purchases, land swaps and leases over the years completed the largely forested property. Today it boasts 10 kilometres of public trails, a swimming area, a group camping site and, of course, the famous Spy Rock lookout overlooking the village of Westport. 

Since 1974, Foley Mountain has also developed a suite of popular outdoor education programs, which have inspired multiple generations of school children to better appreciate the natural world. The program began by offering school field trips and overnight camping, followed by the addition of popular day camps and forest school programs in more recent years. 

The celebration on Sept. 22 focused on the site’s many successes and partnerships over the years, including support from the Friends of Foley Mountain, which was founded in 1996 to support the conservation area in the face of provincial cutbacks. It has since leveraged more than $300,000 in fundraising toward accessible infrastructure, bus and tuition subsidies and programming. 

“50 years is an incredible milestone for an organization,” said Steve Clark, MPP for Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, while addressing the crowd. “You can’t get to this level of success without tremendous staff, tremendous board members and tremendous volunteers. And that’s one of the real things that I think separates this area from many others, the fact that so many people work together.”

Rideau Lakes Mayor Arie Hoogenboom and Westport Mayor Robin Jones also offered their congratulations and noted the central role Foley Mountain plays in both their communities. 

RVCA general manager Sommer Casgrain-Robertson said Foley Mountain wouldn’t be the success it is today without the support of the watershed’s 18 member municipalities, which have consistently recognized the value of conservation areas for their residents. 

“We are so grateful for the ongoing support from Rideau Lakes, Westport and our other municipalities that enables Foley Mountain to continue to serve the community,” Casgrain-Robertson said. “This support has also played a critical role in protecting these lands for a healthier watershed today and into the future.”

Learn more about Foley Mountain and plan your visit at www.rvca.ca/conservation-areas.

-30-

Reforest your rural Ottawa property for only pennies a tree

OTTAWA, Sept. 8, 2023 – If you’ve ever considered planting trees on your rural Ottawa property, there’s no better time than now.

Thanks to generous subsidies from Forests Ontario and the City of Ottawa, Ottawa landowners only pay $0.15 per tree, or about $150 per acre, to reforest their properties – compared to about $3,000 to plant the same trees through a private company. 

“It’s an incredibly good deal, and we do all the work for you,” said Ian Cochrane, forestry manager for the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA), which implements the program in the Rideau And Mississippi Valley watersheds. “We consider your objectives for the property, the site conditions and the types of trees that will thrive there and we make a custom plan.”

Green Acres targets rural properties within city limits with at least 1.25 acres available for tree planting. That could be an unused field, marginal or unproductive farmland or even windbreaks around crops and pasturelands. 

The full-service program is delivered by your local conservation authority and includes a free site visit, custom planting plan, site prep and, of course, the tree planting itself. Staff will also conduct survival assessments for up to five years and refill any sites with low survival.

Tree planting is a practical and cost-effective way to control erosion, increase crop yields, conserve soil and water, reduce heating and cooling costs on your property, support wildlife habitat and reduce your carbon footprint – among many other benefits. 

“I started planting trees in 2016 and the RVCA has provided me with numerous trees,” said Kinburn resident Richard Montague. He said the trees have improved water quality for him and his neighbours, while providing more privacy and adding more beauty to the landscape. 

“The RVCA has been just great,” Montague said. “If you’ve got the land, you should do it.”

Forestry manager Ian Cochrane is currently booking site visits for Ottawa properties in both the Rideau Valley and Mississippi Valley watersheds to plan for Spring 2024. South Nation Conservation Authority provides tree planting services for City of Ottawa properties within its watershed. 

Landowners in the Rideau Valley who live outside the City of Ottawa are also eligible for tree planting grants, with costs depending on the number of trees planted. 

Learn more and book a site visit today: https://www.rvca.ca/stewardship-grants/tree-planting

-30-