Displaying items by tag: giving tuesday

RIDEAU VALLEY, Nov. 29, 2022 – The Simmering Family has renewed its commitment to conservation with a generous matching pledge in support of the Steve Simmering Conservation Land Endowment Fund. 

Up to $5,000 in donations will be doubled between Giving Tuesday (Nov. 29) and Tuesday, Dec. 6.

The Simmering Endowment provides a vital source of annual funds to support more than 1,600 acres of local conservation lands owned by the Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation (RVCF). These wetlands and forests in turn support healthy communities by cleaning our air and water, storing carbon and reducing flood and drought risks. They also provide a critical antidote to the daily grind by providing outdoor recreation opportunities for all. 

“The Simmering Family has been a long-standing supporter of our watershed’s critical natural infrastructure,” said RVCF executive director Diane Downey. “This generous matching pledge will go a long way to protecting the Rideau Valley for generations to come.”

The fund is named for Steve Simmering, a well-respected businessman in the Ottawa area and long-time Vice Chair of the RVCF. He was instrumental in the acquisition of some of the Rideau Valley’s best-loved conservation areas, such as Chapman Mills.

Before Mr. Simmering passed away in 2009, he was an active outdoorsman who loved walking and hiking in the open air. He enjoyed working with the Foundation because he believed in the goal of local, natural areas for all and the opportunity to reconnect with nature through inexpensive family recreation and exercise.

Donations to the Steve Simmering Conservation Lands Endowment Fund help cover annual ownership costs such as property taxes, trail maintenance, signage and fencing. Donations also give us the security to accept more land donations in the future, knowing we have the funds to maintain them. 

Only the annual interest from the fund is withdrawn, while the principal remains invested year after year to produce a steady source of funding. 

This giving season, you can double your impact thanks to the Simmering family – and help keep our watershed green forever. 

Visit www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/63940 to donate now, or visit https://www.rvcf.ca/ways-to-give/steve-simmering-conservation-lands-endowment-fund to learn more. 

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RIDEAU VALLEY, Nov. 21, 2022 – Wetlands are among our planet’s most critical natural features, and key to helping communities manage climate change, worsening storms and extreme weather into an uncertain future.

Yet Ontario's wetlands are increasingly under threat, with reduced wetland protections paving the way for more housing. 

But hope is not lost. Land trusts like the Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation protect wetlands before they are destroyed forever – in fact, the Foundation already protects more than 1,500 acres of pristine natural lands across the Rideau Valley. These lands include vast wetland complexes, upland forests, shoreline properties and critical habitat.

With your help, we can afford to protect even more.

Donations to our Steve Simmering Conservation Lands Endowment Fund this giving season will help the Foundation cover annual maintenance costs for the natural lands we already own - and give us the confidence to accept future land donations knowing we have the funds to maintain them in perpetuity. 

Even natural, undeveloped land costs money to maintain – up to $60,000 per property over time for property taxes, safety inspections and signage – and interest from the Simmering endowment covers these annual costs each year. The principal remains invested to create a steady flow of cash year after year.

Paving our wetlands would put more communities in the path of extreme floods, reduce drinking water quality and contribute to the rapid biodiversity collapse taking over the globe. Not to mention, these critical carbon sinks would no longer pull immense amounts of carbon dioxide out of our warming atmosphere.

This giving season, give wetlands a fighting chance. Visit www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/63940 to donate today. 

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The Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation is a registered environmental charity working to help protect and conserve the lands and waters of the valley of the Rideau River in Eastern Ontario. For more information visit www.rvcf.ca.