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Stewardship

Lyal Island

Looking after nature reserves

Acquiring land is only the first step in caring for nature. Ontario Nature, as one of Ontario's leading land trusts, strives to be a model of responsible land management. Ontario Nature manages the nature reserve system in the following ways:

• Management Planning
• The Volunteer for Nature Program
• Local Nature Reserve Stewards

In addition, Ontario Nature provides services to naturalists' groups and land trusts, developing and distributing capacity building resources for conservation work and protected areas management. Ontario Nature staff will gladly field your questions relating to conservation project management and help put you in touch with resources and conservation community experts.

Management planning

Ontario Nature management plans guide conservation actions on the nature reserves. The management planning process allows Ontario Nature to systematically identify challenges specific to each nature reserve and make informed decisions to meet those management challenges.

Ontario Nature's management plans are focused on conservation objectives. As a result, recommendations often address the challenges of mitigating visitor impact, performing ecological restoration, and safeguarding sensitive ecosystems and habitat for species at risk.

Management planning also gives Ontario Nature a chance to reach out to nature reserve stewards, neighbours and stakeholders. All plans are written with considerable stakeholder consultation. If you live near a nature reserve and would like to be involved in the management planning process for that property, please contact Ontario Nature.

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Volunteer for Nature

Conservation projects on nature reserves frequently involve significant amounts of people power. Crews from the Volunteer for Nature (VfN) program are invaluable participants in much of the management work that takes place on nature reserves. Volunteers perform important conservation work which includes ecological restoration and monitoring projects, improvement of public access, and species surveys.

If you would like to explore Ontario's spectacular natural areas while contributing to valuable conservation projects, visit the Volunteer for Nature section of the website!

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Local nature reserve stewards

Volunteers are the backbone of Ontario Nature nature reserve system. Ontario Nature relies on local stewards who are members of the Nature Network to monitor and care for the reserves. Stewards 'adopt' a nature reserve and act in partnership with Ontario Nature to help protect and manage the property.
Without the help of local stewards, Ontario Nature would not be able to monitor the nature reserves or perform ecological protection and restoration projects to the standard we currently do.

Interested in becoming a nature reserve steward?

The following nature reserves currently do not have stewards and could use your help! If you are located near one of these reserves and are interested in learning more about the nature reserve stewardship, please do not hesitate to contact Ontario Nature.

• Baptist Harbour (Bruce County)
• Bruce Alvar (Bruce County)
• Hay Marsh (District of Algoma)
• Lyal Island (Bruce County)
• Quarry Bay (Manitoulin Island)
• St. Joseph's Island (District of Algoma)
• Stewartville Swamp (County of Lanark)

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