Working to celebrate & conserve Southern Ontario's last intact wilderness
Working to celebrate & conserve Southern Ontario's last intact wilderness
About The Land Between
The Land Between (TLB) is the name of a globally rare and nationally unique bioregion in Southern Ontario, spanning Parry Sound and Orillia through to the Ottawa valley. It is also the name of our grassroots charity that has been working to research, conserve, and protect its features since 2006.
A vital landscape and final wilderness refuge
The Land Between (TLB) bioregion sits "between" the Canadian Shield and St. Lawrence Lowlands, containing features of both of these landscapes as well as features completely unique to it. This patchwork produces a rich diversity across the landscape supporting 59 federally listed Species-at-Risk and also iconic yet fragile species like the loon, bear and moose.
Due to this diversity, TLB also provides ecosystem services like water supplies, water filtration, pollination, flood and disease control which benefit all of Ontario. These services buttress our resilience to a changing climate.
As one of 15 Community Nominated Priority Places in Canada, TLB provides a final opportunity to protect and recover nature through community-driven conservation action.
Our Way
Progress and conservation can be balanced and sustainable if actions reflect community-identities, include interests of future generations, are rooted in reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, and incorporate the understanding that our ultimate wealth and wellbeing comes from living nature. Click to learn more about our approach.
Key Projects
Blue Lakes Program
The Blue Lakes Program allows lakefront property owners to take an active role in protecting the health of their lake and the vitality of their lake community through a formal program with clear guidelines and support. The initiative is backed by our agile database allowing research of the +2400 lakes in the region.
Turtle Guardians
Through our Turtle Guardians project, we rescue turtles on roads, conduct road research and wetland monitoring, and implement mitigation work to reduce turtle mortality. We also rescue, incubate and release turtle hatchlings under permits, from at-risk nests, to increase their odds of survival and bolster turtle populations. Turtle Guardians is a cooperative community project with incredible volunteers across all ages.
Working Watersheds
Wiidookdadewin, means "caring for ourselves". This is the approach we use to care for our communities and our collective futures. We are creating watershed planning tools for municipalities to make informed and balanced decisions between progress and conservation at all scales; to help address growing development pressures and also impacts of Climate Change. We also provide support for better housing designs, food security initiatives and more.
Agwaamtoon Mskhiikii - Conserving and Restoring Species and Spaces
Agwaamtoon Mshkiikii means "protecting the medicines". Nature provides us with our health, wealth, and ultimately our economic well-being. In this final refuge for disappearing wildlife in southern Ontario, efforts integrate Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science to understand, restore and conserve species and spaces. We also provide support for individuals to take action, including designing pollinator and native shoreland gardens, conducting site visits, and more.
Bird Buddies
We offer programming for beginners and avid birders; from guided bird walks to training workshops, learning resources, and more. We install Motus towers, and conduct research for aerial insectivores, where we are assessing the impact of land use changes on moths and butterflies, the primary food source for this guild of birds who have faced steep declines since the 1970s.
Phrag Fighters
Phragmites is known as the most aggressive invasive plant in Ontario. It quickly spreads and outcompetes native plants for resources. It reduces biodiversity and removes fish and wildlife habitats. Our work includes conducting surveys and removal activities, to control phragmites and reduce its impact. This is also made possible through the help of our trained volunteers!
Key Projects
Turtle Guardians
Through our Turtle Guardians project, we rescue turtles on roads, conduct road research and wetland monitoring, and implement mitigation work to reduce turtle mortality. We also rescue, incubate and release turtle hatchlings under permits, from at-risk nests, to increase their odds of survival and bolster turtle populations. Turtle Guardians is a cooperative community project with incredible volunteers across all ages.
Phrag Fighters
Phragmites is known as the most aggressive invasive plant in Ontario. It quickly spreads and outcompetes native plants for resources. It reduces biodiversity and removes fish and wildlife habitats. Our work includes conducting surveys and removal activities, to control phragmites and reduce its impact. This is also made possible through the help of our trained volunteers!
Bird Buddies
We offer programming for beginners and avid birders; from guided bird walks to training workshops, learning resources, and more. We install Motus towers, and conduct research for aerial insectivores, where we are assessing the impact of land use changes on moths and butterflies, the primary food source for this guild of birds who have faced steep declines since the 1970s.
Working Watersheds
Wiidookdadewin, means "caring for ourselves". This is the approach we use to care for our communities and our collective futures. We are creating watershed planning tools for municipalities to make informed and balanced decisions between progress and conservation at all scales; to help address growing development pressures and also impacts of Climate Change. We also provide support for better housing designs, food security initiatives and more.
Blue Lakes Program
The Blue Lakes Program allows lakefront property owners to take an active role in protecting the health of their lake and the vitality of their lake community through a formal program with clear guidelines and support. The Blue Lakes Program allows lakefront property owners to take an active role in protecting the health of their lake and the vitality of their lake community through a formal program with clear guidelines and support. The initiative is backed by our agile database allowing research of the +2400 lakes in the region.
Agwaamtoon Mskhiikii- Conserving and Restoring Species and Spaces
Agwaamtoon Mshkiikii means "protecting the medicines". Nature provides us with our health, wealth, and ultimately our economic well-being. In this final refuge for disappearing wildlife in southern Ontario, efforts integrate Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science to understand, restore and conserve species and spaces. Also, support for individuals to take actions, includes designing pollinator and native shoreland gardens, conducting site visits, and providing other resources.
Important Now
You Can Help
REPORT A SPECIES
Reported sightings help us track population levels, understand threats and highlight significant areas or habitat features for management and conservation.
SIGN OUR PETITION
Tell municipalities that you want stronger protection of wetlands and that filling of key turtle and other wildlife wetland habitat is unacceptable to you by signing our online petition.
VOLUNTEER
From nest-sitting turtles to removing invasive species to being a bird buddy for our most at-risk avian friends, there are many ways to donate your time through our community science programming!
NATURALIZE YOUR PROPERTY
Natural shorelands not only provide flood and erosion control as well as critical habitat for wildlife, they can also reduce the presence of nuisance wildlife on your property, like geese.
NEW! Support turtle conservation, symbolically "adopt" a turtle hatchling!
Our official Hatchling "Adoption" Program is now live! By symbolically "adopting" a hatchling, 100% of your funds will go towards our turtle conservation work this 2023 field season, including at-risk nest excavation, hatchling incubation and release, and much more! You can select between a virtual downloadable adoption certificate or our full, official kit to commemorate your support for turtles!
The Hatchling "Adoption" Program does not involve adopting actual turtles. It is illegal to hold wild turtles captive.
Donate to protect our wild places and wildlife
Every dollar supports vital conservation work.
Donate to protect our wild places and wildlife
Every dollar supports vital conservation work.