Since it humble origins in 1993, the Couchiching Conservancy has evolved into a trusted steward of important natural places and irreplaceable habitat.
The driving force behind that journey has been Ron Reid. He was the “spark” that ignited interest in creating the agency and he continues to help guide its evolution. In 2017, that evolution included the acquisition of 730 acres of land inside the Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park – a landmark achievement for the conservancy.
Last week, the Couchiching Conservancy, at is annual general meeting, unveiled the new name of that property: The Ron Reid Nature Reserve.
Reid said he was “gobsmacked” when he learned of the honour.
“For someone who has spent their entire life as I have, trying to protect nature and natural areas and habitat, I can’t think of an honour higher than having a property named after you – especially one like this that is so beautiful,” Reid told OrilliaMatters. “It’s means a lot to me.”
It’s a fitting tribute to a giant in the field, said Mark Bisset, the executive director of the Couchiching Conservancy. He said the agency had been seeking a way to recognize Reid’s contributions.
“When the Black River Wildlands came up, it just made a ton of sense because it’s a large, beautiful property,” said Bisset. “The Black River is the property we chose, but this is about a lifetime of work.”
Bisset said not only has Reid built the conservancy into one of the top such organizations in Ontario, he has also helped influence policy and “his name comes up repeatedly” when someone researches land trusts and conservation. “His name is all over the central, critical documents,” Bisset said, noting Reid was instrumental in drawing the original boundaries of the Queen Elizabeth II Park.
But it was more than that, said Bisset. “Ron has been a paddler all his life and he lives on the river system, so that also made sense,” he said of the idea to name the property in his honour. “There are a whole bunch of reasons the Conservancy wanted to honour Ron Reid.”
While Reid is “humbled” by the honour, he says it was never about him and he couldn’t have achieved success without the help of others.
“Part of my reaction was, I’m not dead yet and I’m not even done yet,” he quipped. “My one suggestion was, I said ‘You know I would have been happier if it had said Ron Reid and Friends. You never do these things all by yourself. This is not an individual pursuit; it’s a team pursuit … so it feels a bit strange to be singled out when it’s always been about the team.”
Reid, however, led the team. He spearheaded the organization’s creation and served as its executive director for seven years. He decided to semi-retire about eight years ago; that’s when Bisset took the reins. But Reid continues to be active in the organization he helped birth.
“It’s been eight years now (since I semi-retired) and I’m still involved and spend about half of my time here. It’s a labour of love more than anything else,” Reid said. “I love doing these kinds of projects. I love the art of the deal ... structuring something so we can accomplish it and the landowner feels good about it and is treated fairly; that’s a great thing to be able to do.”
The acquisition of the Black River property is one of the conservancy’s most important achievements, said Reid. It is also an example of how people support the organization as the ambitious fundraising goal of $575,000 was met within five months and exceeded its goal.
Reid and Bisset said they knew the campaign was going to be successful during a rainy spring day last year when Joan Rosebush joined them and others for a paddle on the rapidly-rushing river. At the end of the four-hour excursion, Rosebush told Bisset she and her husband, John, would be making a $100,000 donation to the project.
“They had looked for a wilderness property to purchase years ago, but it never worked out,” said Bisset. “When she saw this and knew that we would look after the property permanently … she was moved to help. It was an incredible moment for us and I think we knew right then that we would be able to do this.”
For Reid, that watershed moment, in a way, fulfilled a long-held dream. Almost a quarter century ago, when the conservancy was starting, he attended a rally in the United States where a speaker said the goal should be to become synonymous with what you’re trying to accomplish.
“When someone thinks of health care in Orillia, they think of Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital,” explained Reid. “This speaker said that as a community-based land trust, which is what we are, you want someone when they think about nature to think about the Couchiching Conservancy and I think we’re pretty close to being there.”
He said part of that is related to its track record. “We’ve got staff, money in the bank, a board that functions very well and who are very determined that the organization is here for the long term. We take it very seriously when we take responsibility for a property, it’s forever … people want to know that they can trust us to look after the property as they would and that’s what we try to do.”