The Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority marked Earth Day at a newly restored natural property in South Kent.
Back in 2020, the Ridge Landfill Community Trust donated $1 million to the conservation authority for tree planting, and prairie and wetland restoration in the area.
More than $152,000 has been spent since then, matched by various other community partners, such as Forests Ontario, Ducks Unlimited Canada and Ontario Power Generation.
“We are pleased to provide this contribution to the restoration of natural habitat in South-Kent and equally pleased that this has led to matching donations,” said Julie MacDonald of the Ridge Landfill Community Trust in a release.
Through the donation, more than 26 hectares (66 acres) of land have been retired and restored back to nature. This includes more than 28,000 trees planted, four hectares (10 acres) of prairie planted and the creation of over 14 newly excavated wetlands.
Some of the benefits of this renaturalization include carbon sequestration, improved water quality and flood protection.
Randall Van Wagner, the conservation authority’s manager of conservation lands and services, thanked the Ridge Landfill Trust for its continued support of the initiative.
“By leveraging other partners, these dollars will go a long way by creating more habitat,” he said.
Conservation authority officials noted the valuable watershed is home to many unique species that are not found anywhere else in the country.
One species at risk in particular, the eastern fox snake, is expected to move into the newly restored sites, along with several turtle species, amphibians and many pollinator species.
“The environment is everyone’s responsibility,” Mayor Darrin Canniff said. “We need the combined efforts of all of these partners to take our knowledge, combine it with the financial resources and the personal commitment to ensure that we take meaningful action to preserve, protect and restore our part of the planet. Chatham-Kent is proud to be part of this initiative.”