The Catholic Register - Forest project keeps space green

Written by Robert White, Catholic Register Special,

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The resurrection of an old-growth forest is growing one square metre at a time.

The Jesuit Collaborative for Ecology, Agriculture and Forestry started fund-raising for the Old Growth Forest Project in November 2006 and has raised $70,000, half in the $20 for a square metre donation. One anonymous donor sponsored $35,000 worth of square metres.

JCEAF’s goal is to return 40 hectares, alongside the Guelph Lake Conservation Area, where Marden Creek meets the Speed River, to an old- growth forest of maples, oaks, elms and pines native to Ontario. Today, more than 99 per cent of that old growth has disappeared, replaced by a clear-cut that stretches across the province.

“We’re keeping spaces green,” says Fr. Jim Profit, S.J., JCEAF’s director. “Being close to the city, close to urban people, it can promote reconnection with the Earth as a green spot surrounded by the city.”

The forest, a collaboration between JCEAF, the Guelph International Resource Centre and the Ontario Farmland Trust, will be protected by a conservation easement held by the trust. The voluntary legal agreement sets limits on the use of the property and protects it from future development even if there’s an ownership change. The intent is that 500 years from now, the old growth forest will still exist.

While a portion of each square-metre donation will be set aside in a legacy fund to ensure long-term support, the rest will be used to fund:

the development of the forest — in the early stages this includes its design, planting and nurturing. As the forest develops, funds will be used to refine ecological restoration techniques and the preservation of the site’s historical and cultural heritage;
education — turning the forest into a living classroom for high school students, giving them hands-on experience in forestry restoration and woodland ecosystems; and
JCEAF — allowing the Jesuits and participants at the centre to engage nature through spiritual practice.

For more information check www.oldgrowthforest.ca.

(White is a freelance writer in Guelph, Ont.)

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