Conservation Halton fundraising campaign will enhance and expand green spaces

The Conservation Halton Foundation has launched the largest fundraising campaign in its history. The Connected Campaign aims to raise $20 million to grow Conservation Halton’s ‘greenprint’ to provide communities with more opportunities to connect with nature. The effort will  help to expand and enhance parks and greenspaces in the conservation authority’s watershed – and will also accelerate restoration projects that protect local ecosystems making nature-based learning and outdoor recreation more available and accessible to all.

The campaign was announced by Garner Beckett, Executive Director of the Conservation Halton Foundation and Hassaan Basit, Conservation Halton President and CEO, during the official launch event held at Crawford Lake Conservation Area in Milton. The park is one of eight conservation areas that Conservation Halton protects and manages within its watershed.

“Halton has grown rapidly in the last two decades; in Milton alone, the population has quadrupled. So, it’s not surprising that Conservation Halton has seen record-breaking numbers of park visitors. People in our communities and across the province place great value on spending time in nature,” said Basit. “With this campaign, we aim to ensure these vital areas are preserved, protected, and enhanced for years to come.”

The campaign has three priority areas: Parks and Greenspaces, Biodiversity and Resilience, and Education and Community.

Campaign Chair, Catherine Mulvale, recognized Parks and Greenspaces donor EATON for supporting the creation of lakeside gathering spaces at Area 8, Biodiversity and Resilience donors Sheila and Keith Minkhorst for their  gift toward Area 8 habitat restoration, and Education and Community supporters Francine McCarthy and Mike MacKinnon for recently establishing The McCarthy Fund for Crawford Lake, an endowment that will support engagement and education about the globally significant meromictic lake protected at the park.

Mulvale also recognized RBC, whose lead, multi-year funding commitment kickstarted a new climate action program for newcomer youth, enabled investment in new environmental monitoring technology, and is helping Conservation Halton connect more youth with nature at its parks and across the watershed.

Learn more at conservationhalton.ca/foundation