Nature and Outdoors

Important Wetlands And Forests In Essex County Now Protected

Upper Cedar Creek wetland. (Photo by Brianne Curry/NCC staff)

Two new nature reserves established in one of Ontario’s most threatened areas

More than 25 years ago, Orfeo Lucchese purchased a rural farm and woodlot property in Essex County, near Harrow, Ontario. With great effort and insightful vision, he transformed it into a vibrant forest, meadow and wetland sanctuary. Now, these restored ecosystems will be protected forever.

At an on-site news conference on Wednesday, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) announced it has bought the property, creating two new and permanent nature reserves: Upper Cedar Creek and nearby Hillman Sand Hills. These nature reserves provide habitat for wildlife and numerous species at risk, as well as important ecosystem services for communities in southwestern Ontario.

The trees that have grown from the acorns that Lucchese and his family planted now shelter species listed under the federal Species at Risk Act, including some of Ontario’s rarest birds, like eastern wood-peewee (special concern). The restored wetlands now swirl with painted turtles (special concern) while the shorelines are dotted with the vibrant pink flowers of swamp rosemallow (special concern). Together, these ecosystems store and filter water, absorb carbon and help lessen the impacts of climate change on surrounding communities in southwestern Ontario.

Eastern Wood-Pewee (Photo by Alexander Jardine)

Upper Cedar Creek boasts more than 20 hectares of mature forest, thriving wetlands and meadows, and is surrounded by other conservation lands like Cedar Creek Provincial Park and NCC’s Marianne Girling Nature Reserve. Located near the headwaters of Cedar Creek, its wetlands and forests provide clean drinking water and flood mitigation for communities downstream, while its forests help sequester carbon and clean the air.

Hillman Sand Hills is a 30-hectare ecological gem that contains pristine forest, ancient sand ridges and low-lying wet areas that offer habitat for salamanders and other at-risk species. Located near Point Pelee National Park and the Hillman Marsh coastal wetland complex, Hillman Sand Hills has long been recognized as an environmentally significant site in Essex County.

Hillman Sand Hills. (Photo by Jill Crosthwaite/NCC staff)

Together, these two new nature reserves fit into a ribbon of green natural cover that cuts southeast from the Windsor area through a patchwork landscape of developed lands, all the way to Lake Erie.

These projects were made possible by the Government of Canada, through Canada’s Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund, the Government of Ontario, through the Greenlands Conservation Partnership program, and private donors wishing to remain anonymous.

Orfeo at pond woodduck box, November 2001 (Photo provided by Lucchese Family)

These projects showcase how NCC is accelerating the pace of conservation in Canada. In the past two years alone, NCC has influenced the protection of more than one million hectares (almost twice the size of Prince Edward Island), coast to coast to coast. Over the next few years, the organization will double its impact by mobilizing Canadians and delivering permanent, large-scale conservation.

In the face of rapid biodiversity loss and climate change, nature is our ally. There is no solution to either without nature conservation. When nature thrives, we all thrive.

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