Williams Gift author and veterinarian Dr. Helen Douglas

After years of entertaining her friends with stories of her trade as a long time country veterinarian, Dr. Helen Douglas, who runs a vet clinic in Carleton Place, decided that she’d write a book based on those tales.

“I kept a journal of all of the stories and I just wrote them down but I really had no idea of how it would turn out,” she said in describing the way she approached completing her first book.

Her first book, entitled “Williams Gift - One Veterinarian’s Journey”, tells of Douglas' journey of self-discovery as a young country vet learning the ins and outs of her trade as she traveled various country and city roads from clinic to clinic. The stories have titles such as "Snakes on a Bus”, “An Elephant Comes to Visit” and “Noel's Nine Lives”. They tell of her encounters with various species in a number of different situations, all of which helped to form her both as a vet, and as a person.

The stories offer a glimpse into the realities of entering a line of work where the learning curve tends to be a very steep one, especially for a young and inexperienced vet. They are an honest portrayal of the triumphs and tribulations she encountered on the job and are sure to inspire young students considering a career in caring for creatures both great and small.

As a youngster Douglas always knew she wanted to be a vet and her first story “Starting Out” recounts her experience as a student in the summer at a mixed practice clinic in Nova Scotia where she came into contact with rugged country folk. In one of her first emergency cases, she helped to save a young dog suffering from strychnine poisoning. She also recounts certain unfortunate episodes; one memorable one where a family's pet bird suffered a heart attack in her hands while the young family members looked on.

At a recent appearance at the Nature Lover’s Bookstore in Lanark, Douglas said that when writing the book she purposefully set out to give a realistic account of the trials and tribulations of her personal journey as a vet, which sometimes those closest to her had difficulty understanding.

She was quick to point out that her vet friends commended her on showing both the ups said that most who have read the book greatly appreciate her honesty.

She tells of her adventures setting up her own first practice in Grand Pre, Nova Scotia, and later working in Lanark County.

Douglas also has the advantage of understanding who her audience is.

“My two main audiences so far have been people that love James Harriet’s books and young people who want to be vets,” she said.

Douglas also stressed that these days it is a lot easier to be a female vet than it used to be. “These days almost every vet is a woman compared to when I was young and people felt that a woman could not do the job as well as a man. There’s no longer that hurdle of confidence that women vets have to get over. And the tools of the trade are so much better these days and make the actual work much easier to do.”

Below is a reprinted selection from the “Starting Out” where the author's witnesses of a terrible accident while attending to William, a racehorse in Kentucky. It propels the reader into Helen Douglas’ past experiences as a veterinarian.

”An unexpected grief came over me, and tears started to pour down my cheeks. I stood experiencing deeply and with no inhibition the depth of William’s sacrifice. As a seasoned veterinarian, I had been witness to many tragedies and much loss in the animal world. I had long ago cultivated the ability to stay calm in emergencies, to act and not feel when I needed to most. I had dealt with many such events in a cool professional manner, serving over and over the owners and their pets with no reflection on my own feelings. Now I wept like a baby, and the cumulative pain took my breath away. A tidal wave of repressed emotion knocked me off my feet. How did I get to this place?”

The ensuing stories give a complete picture of how Douglas had indeed gotten to that place.

William’s Gift-One Veterinarian’s Journey is available at the Nature Lover’s Bookstore in Lanark and is a realistic and honest account of the trials and tribulations of a country vet and an inspiration for those considering a career as a veterinarian.

by Susan Ramsay, Early Literacy Specialist

“Let go! It’s mine!” Four year-old Sam snatches the ball from his sister’s grasp. Cleo, only two, knows what to do. Stomach-first, she throws herself on the floor, beats her small fists on the ground and erupts with a bloodthirsty cry. Sam and Cleo’s parents, in another room when the dispute broke out, wonder how to intervene. Who had the ball first? Who owns it? Who needs it most? Should the children take turns, or should the ball be taken away?

Derek Evans, former Deputy Secretary General of Amnesty International, believes that compromise is not the ideal strategy to resolve conflict. His negotiating experiences demonstrate that the best results are achieved, not when opponents feel they must give up something, but rather when they are able to create a new vision or opportunity together…. when Sam and Cleo choose to play ball together.

But creating a new vision is not always easy. In 1990, two million Canadians joined 200 million people in 141 nations to celebrate the first International Earth Day. Twenty years later, the issues of municipal waste and renewable sources of energy are still hotly debated within communities, and clear direction about climate change and worldwide loss of species is elusive to politicians on the world stage. But Canadians have not lost their vision. On April 22, 2010 more than six million Canadians joined one billion people in over 170 countries to address environmental issues.

While effective environmental policies are disputed and hammered out in the adult world, respectful environmental choices can be birthed in the world of a child. Nurturing children’s love of nature is easy. They are already in the spring mud, digging their way to earthworm heaven. We simply need to find a plastic shovel too and, as we dig, talk about the creatures and rocks and plants we find together. We need to model composting and recycling. We need to affirm children’s sense of wonder about nature.

Books with an environmental theme have been written for children from birth onwards. Schim Schimmel has written exquisitely illustrated board and picture books for children from birth to twelve years of age. Children of the Earth Remember and Family of the Earth are both in toddler-friendly board books. Dear Children of the Earth is perfect for reading and talking about with preschoolers and school-age children.

Shrinking die cut holes in The Water Hole by Graeme Base show how important clean water is to jungle animals. This book is published in picture, board and colouring book formats.

Mercer Mayer fans will be happy to discover that Little Critter has recently joined the environmental movement too in Little Critter: It’s Earth Day!

Earth Day: An Alphabet Book by Gary Kowalski shows the incredible diversity of earth’s plants, animals and insects.

Creating a better world for our children can involve our children. Exploring, talking and reading about nature can help children create the vision that will show them how to play with that big ball we call home – Earth.

Susan Ramsay is the Early Literacy Specialist for Hastings, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington. You can contact her at 613-354-6318 (ext 32)

Photographer Beth Smart

For artists and art lovers who are inspired by nature the Bob Echo Art Exhibition and Sale never fails to please. Three main reasons keep both groups coming back year after year: one - the show's loyal audience of art buyers; two - the gorgeous views of towering rock faces, pristine waters and tall shady pines and last - the show offers something for everyone.

Not only was there a BBQ and fresh baked goods for sale, for the kids there was a live, interactive snake show and hands on crafts. For the adults- live country classics by local band Border Town were a nice complement to the main attraction-the art.

Chinese born and classically trained oil painter Terry Hsu summed up the event best, saying, “If you seek art you may find it in everything around you.” Terry, who moved to Canada in 1999, began painting at seven years of age in China and was trained by both Russian and Chinese painters. He has been painting for 35 years and this is his third time showing at Bon Echo. His works are vibrant colourful, realistic depictions of wild life and landscapes that he creates by mixing colours right on the canvas. What first attracts passersby to this booth are the smaller intricate works of various bird species: gold finch, starling, bluebird, and pine grosbeak displayed up front. In each a single bird is centred in the frame and is painted by layering various colours one upon the other to create a hyper real-vibrant image reminiscent of typical contemporary classical Chinese nature works.

The pieces Terry enjoys painting most are the larger landscapes, where he has the space to “magnify the beauty of what he sees before him.” His work titled Bon Echo Landscape depicts a fallen, mossy log in a autumn forest and is an example of the work he paints every year when he and his wife make the annual trip from Toronto. (To see more of Terry's work visit www.oilbyterry.com)

For local artist Beth Smart of Cloyne photography is the means she uses to capture the beauty of the Bon Echo geography and as a long-time area resident and a fourth-year vendor at the show, she is continually creating new items to keep customers returning to her booth.

Beth is a self-taught photographer who learned the art from her father. She was given her first camera at the age of nine. This year she was showing two new types of work, the first- collages. Her themes as always are landscape and wildlife. In one framed piece she collected various images of butterflies she photographed in the area. In a second she collaged together different images of Bon Echo park taken during different seasons through out the year, “In the Bon Echo collage I'm trying to show people the beauty of the park at different times of the year when visitors don't usually get a chance to see it.”

Also new are her “photo paddles”- small wooden canoe paddles covered with her images, which she applies using a special ink transfer technique. It can take 20-25 hours for a single paddle. Beth sells her work at the park's gift shop and she will also be participating in the Cloyne Showcase from August 6-8.

Multiple media artist Todd Tremeer has been doing the Bon Echo show for five years now. Todd, who hails from Bowmanville, graduated from the Ontario College of Art in Toronto in 1995 and he has been doing shows ever since. He works in watercolour, oil and printmaking and when in town for the show he often camps on crown land just north of the park where he paints small studies and sketches that he later works up into larger pieces back at his studio in Bowmanville.

“My preference is to make landscapes that are not necessarily particular to any specific place.” His small-framed etchings are done as dry points, which he etches onto plates that he carries with him into the bush then later prints and colours.

One called “Beaver Dam” and another called “Bon Echo” are indicative of the local landscape in the area and attract a lot of interest from return buyers to his booth.

His larger works are oil on canvas and pictured here is Killarney Landscape, a work from a study he did on site while camping.

Todd enjoys the annual Bon Echo show and said,

“It's a great show where I often make a few sales but I also camp out and work while I'm here, so it’s kind of a working holiday for me as well.”

Most recently Treemer has been working with war museum collections and is creating works that deal with those collections, history and how history is reconstructed through museum spaces. To see more of his work visit www.toddtremeer.com

Event organizer Harold Kaufmann, chair of the art committee at Bon Echo, was pleased with the high calibre of art in the show this year and noted that he tries to jury in at least 10 new artists each year.

Derek Maggs, executive director of the Friends of Bon Echo Park, said increased local advertising this year has helped bring out newcomers to the show and park. The Friends, whose efforts include the ongoing preservation of the natural and cultural heritage of the park, continue to offer visitors a unique art show in the midst of unique wilderness setting. For more information about the park and its Friends please visit www.mazinaw.on.ca/fobbecho

Bud Andress is a retired Parks Canada warden, and an expert on Bald Eagles. He has devoted himself to fostering and monitoring the return of bald eagles to the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River, and he will be bringing a wealth of information about Bald Eagle behaviour and nesting patterns to the Oso (Soldiers Memorial) Hall in Sharbot Lake on Saturday July 10 from 2-4 pm.

Andress is former co-chair of the St. Lawrence Bald Eagle working group, which is active on both sides of the Canada/US border. It is estimated that there were 400 nesting eagles in the Ottawa Valley/St. Lawrence River region early in the 1900s, and they were commonly seen in Frontenac County but the numbers dropped off due to pollution, habitat loss, and human disturbance, particularly the use of pesticides.

It was in 1937 that the last nesting pair of bald eagles was observed in the Thousand Islands. That is, until 1999. In that year a pair of bald eagles was spotted building a nest on an Osprey nesting platform near the Ivy Lea bridge. Since then about 20 eaglets have been hatched in the Ivy Lea area, and about 75-100 eagles overwinter in the area.

Some of the projects that have been undertaken by the Bald Eagle working group include satellite monitoring of eaglets and building nesting platforms. Bud Andress will talk about the bald eagle’s recovery, the ongoing research that he is conducting, and further steps that can be taken to bring Bald Eagles back to this region.

Bald Eagles are classed as a Species at Risk by the Ministry of Natural Resources. Now that they are starting to come back, many organizations are trying to help them get re-established.

The talk is a presentation of the Frontenac Stewardship Council and the Kennebec Lake Association.

With the goal of “ramping up” public exposure for the business he opened in 2003, Paul Scott, owner of the Sumac Centre, is hoping to attract the attention of businesses, groups and individuals looking for a place to hold any kind of event in what can only be described as a very special place.

Located on a 586 acre property between Parham and Mountain Grove, on the shores of a private pristine lake, the center's two-storey, 6000 square foot lodge took Scott and his design team eight years to plan. Their meticulous attention to detail has created a center that places its natural surroundings front and centre while simultaneously offering up a fully functioning indoor space equipped and furnished with all of the modern conveniences that any small and large group may require.

Scott, who up until now was running the center on his own and entertaining usually one or two groups a month, recently hired on a co-director, Victor Heese, and business partner, David Campbell, with the hopes of increasing his business.

“We are now entering a new phase at the center and have made many changes to it. Now we want the public at large to know that we are here and open for business”, Scott said when I interviewed him and Heese on November 2.

The lodge's main floor, which is100% wheelchair accessible, boasts a series of huge passive solar windows that offer a panoramic view of the lake and surrounding woodlands. Outside, just 30 meters away, a dock protrudes into the lake, and a few canoes and a rowboat are beached close by. Just beyond, a fire pit stands lined with benches. The center's “great room” functions as the central hub of the building and it includes ample living and dining space. The room encompasses a fully equipped kitchen, a large gas stove, a large central island with three built-in sinks, and cupboards and cabinets filled with utensils and dishes for groups keen on cooking for themselves. A large, screened-in porch equipped with a barbeque invites outdoor cooking.

Photo:  l-r, Victor Heese with his daughter Natsuki and Paul Scott in the kitchen at the Sumac Centre

For those who prefer to have some or all of their meals provided, Heese and his wife Naomi offer a diverse catered menu with dishes that include locally sourced ingredients and much of their own home-grown veggies and herbs. Equipped with audio/visual equipment, the great room is perfect for businesses and or corporations, groups or individuals wanting to hold conferences, seminars or workshops. Also on the main floor is the center's largest guest room, complete with an office area and an ensuite bathroom.

The remaining seven guest rooms are located on the second floor. They are all simple, clean, bright rooms each with a twin bed, their own sink, and with adjoining washrooms between them that offer up shampoo, soaps, hair dryers and even an iron and board, for those needing a last final pressing. A large conference room on the second floor can easily accommodate 15-20 and it houses folding chairs and tables and a handy kitchenette. It connects to a second storey deck where guests can lounge. The center offers a high-speed wireless connection, and last but not least is the “quiet room”, a cozy second-storey hideaway for guests who want to get away from the crowd. This room is windowed on three sides and seemingly hangs amongst the tall pine trees that surround it.

Scott and his team are transforming the center's 2000 square foot basement into a multi-purpose room perfect for yoga retreats and art or craft workshops. There are also plans for a whirlpool and sauna. Scott says he hopes to host a wide array of clients for events that may include weddings, family reunions, church groups, corporate retreats and workshops, high school and university groups, couples and individuals just looking to get away from it all.

Sumac Centre is located on a private lane. It has ample parking and is open throughout the year. Anyone wanting more information can visitwww.sumaccentre.ca or call Paul Scott at 613-335-3417.

A beautiful 100-acre upland wilderness area has been donated to the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust Conservancy (MMLTC) by the family of Charlie Armstrong and his daughters, Charlene and Bethany. On Friday, May 4, the public is invited to visit Rose Hill Nature Reserve to celebrate this generous donation.

The land, located just west of Rose Hill Lake, will be preserved in perpetuity by MMLTC, a registered charity. It will become a Nature Reserve for environmental education, research and low-impact recreational public enjoyment. An access trail traverses the property.

Charles Armstrong purchased the property in the 1940s. It was close to the Fritsch farm in Denbigh where his wife had grown up. Bethany and Charlene fondly remember the happy annual outings to Rose Hill in later years with the grandchildren who were entranced as Grandpa would point out natural landmarks and identify trees, plants and animal tracks. Charlene and Bethany are gratified that this wonderful tract of forest and wetlands that their father loved so much will be cared for and appreciated by future generations as it matures and evolves. They know that Charlie would have been simply delighted!

For MMLTC, Rose Hill is an important acquisition because of its high wilderness value. With passive management, this Nature Reserve is expected to become a showcase of rich habitats, especially for threatened and endangered species. The property lies within the important Algonquin to Adirondack corridor and is the first property in this area under formal protection. The public will be encouraged to visit Rose Hill Nature Reserve to learn more about the importance of nature conservation and protection.

The acquisition of this property was supported by the Ontario Land Trust Assistance Program (OLTAP), which assists eligible recipients with the costs of land securement transactions to help conserve Ontario’s biodiversity. OLTAP is an initiative of the Ontario Land Trust Alliance made possible by the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the Department of Environment and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

You are invited to join Bethany and Charlene and representatives of the Land Trust on May 4 at 2 p.m. to formally complete the donation and transfer of the property into the ownership and protection of the Land Trust. Following a brief ceremony, there will be a short guided tour of part of the property to appreciate what the Charlie Armstrong family and the MMLTC find so special. To reach the Rose Hill Nature Reserve, just north of Denbigh on Highway 41, turn east on Rose Hill Road and follow the signs.

For further information regarding this event, the Rose Hill Nature Reserve or the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust Conservancy, please visit www.mmltc.ca or call 613-278-2939.

Photo: Doug Lee, Kevin Hanse and Steve Pitt, harvesting Butternuts.

Well, not that elusive on this day.

Kevin Hansen and Steve Pitt have been working on the Butternut Recovery Project for several years and part of the project involves collecting seed from healthy trees. The project is sponsored by the Forest Gene Conservation Association

Butternut trees have been hit with a canker that has decimated the butternuts in the northern United States and has moved into Ontario in recent years, infecting up to 95% of the butternut stock. While there is no cure for the canker, some trees seem to have a resistance to it and manage to survive while others wither and die.

Through the Butternut Recovery Project, landowners who have butternut trees on their property have been asked to contact Kevin Hansen, who will come out and look at the trees, determine if they are infected, and enter them in a database.

He also contacts the landowners to see if any of their trees, whether they are infected or not, are producing butternuts in a given year. If they are, he comes out and collects the nuts in order to plant them and build up a stock of seedlings for planting later on.

The hope is that by planting as many butternuts as possible, the tree stock may be able to get ahead of the canker.

Doug Lee, of Godfrey, is one landowner who contacted the Butternut Recovery Project. There are about 100 butternut trees on the various farm properties owned by Lee’s family, and some of them are in pretty good shape. This year, about five of Lee’s butternut trees produced seed, and two of them were pretty well laden.

So, bright and early on September 6, Steve Pitt, who is the stewardship co-ordinator for the Lennox and Addington Stewardship Council in addition to working on the Butternut Recovery Project, and Kevin Hansen, met up with Doug Lee at his property off the Ball Road.

Armed with some pails, bags, and extension poles that are normally used for pruning taller trees, the men headed over to a nearby butternut, which, although stunted because it is basically growing out of a rock, is still in an open spot and producing seed. It also shows little if any sign of the canker.

Doug Lee was wearing a construction hat. We soon found out why.

We were all full of advice for Steve Pitt, who was wielding the pole, as to where he should be hitting the branches to knock the still-ripening butternuts off.

The thing is, when you are looking up, your face is exposed, and a butternut falling from 30 feet up gains a fair bit of momentum. We quickly realised it was better to face the ground and listen for falling butternuts as we scrambled to find them among the leaves, rocks and debris in the vicinity of the tree. But that still left the tops of our heads exposed. Better a hard hat than a soft head

The second tree was older, taller, and also in pretty good shape. It was also full of nuts.

After a couple of hours of knocking and climbing and gathering, a full bag and a large pail of butternuts were gathered, which Steve Pitt estimated to be about 750 butternuts.

“This year has been better than the last couple of years for nut production, a lot better,” said Steve Pitt. “We would be lucky to fill half a small pail at some locations last year.”

Pitt said that a sample of the nuts would be sent to a facility in Sioux St. Marie, where they will be tested to make sure they are pure butternuts, and not crossed with walnut or some other similar species, though he said that was not likely, given the location of the trees in this case.

The nuts will be planted in a nursery within a couple of weeks, and the seedlings will be left to grow for about 2 years before they will be transplanted to locations in Frontenac and L &A County.

Anyone with butternuts should contact Kevin Hansen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 613-449-0732

Photo: Author Jan Andrews reads to Josephine and Andrea Nuttall of Elphin

Author Jan Andrews appreciates youngsters’ love for all things bawdy and with that in mind created her latest book, “Rude Stories”, a collection of bawdy folk tales that is sure to bring a giggle to gobs of children young and old.

Jan was at the Nature Lover's Bookstore in Lanark on March 6 and read a selection of the stories from her latest book, which just came out in the fall.

The eight once-upon-a-time stories are all based on old folk tales that Jan has heard over the years and she says that she has pretty much kept all of them intact. ”I don't like to tinker with the basic pattern of the stories and the integrity of them but I will reshape them a bit if I feel there is a need.”

She chose folk tales for a number of reasons, but high on the list is their ability to engage youngsters. “These old traditional stories have a richness and so many interesting things going on in them that kids can easily see themselves reflected in them in so many different ways.”

One story, titled “A Tale of Rude Tails”, is an old Aboriginal story that was told to Jan years ago. It tells the story of how it came to be that dogs always greet each other in their nose to rump fashion. The story's leading character is Weesageechuk, the trickster who throws a party for dogs far and wide. After inviting them he instructs them to hang up their behinds on hooks while the party goes on. Later on at the party, when all hell breaks loose, the dogs are forced to leave abruptly and what ensues causes their method of salutations for ever after.

“The Skeleton in the Rocking Chair” is one story that celebrates the art of creative cussing and involves a nasty old witch of a wife who refuses to die in peace. Even after death she continues to torment her husband, calling him names like “clinchpoop” and “cokamamy flapdoodler” until, in the end she finally dances herself into oblivion.

The stories are multi-layered and so appeal to all ages and are in no way rude for just rudeness sake. In Jan's words, “There is absolutely no ‘gratuitous grossness’ here, just good fun.”

In Mr. Mosquito, an old European gypsy story, a nasty mosquito tries to extinguish Ms. Candle’s eternal flame and gets burned in the process but still somehow manages to make the most of it. In “The Magic Bottom Fan”, a nasty gambler uses a magic fan first to his own greedy gain but later misuses it with dire consequences to his own bottom.

It was only later in life that Jan came to appreciate folk tales. “As a adult and a story teller I came to realize that these stories really contain all of the wisdom of the world.”

Jan has been writing children's books for years but is also a storyteller for all ages. With “Rude Stories” she feels she is successfully crossing an age barrier and thinks that the book is getting very good reviews for that reason. “Reviewers are recognizing that the stories are a lot of fun and contain many different layers of meaning. They touch on the issue of what is rude and what isn't and the reasons why something might be considered rude at one particular time and not another.” For anyone who likes a good, rude tale, “Rude Stories” might be just the thing. It is available at the Nature Lover’s Book store, and online at www.tundrabooks.com. For more information about the author visit www.janandrews.ca.

Photo: Meagan Balogh

When Frontenac County completed an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP) a couple of years ago, Gray Merriam, who was then the Chair of the Frontenac Stewardship Council, brought the first sustainability project proposal to the county.

It was for a glossy, full colour, magazine format booklet, which he dubbed “The “Naturally Rich Frontenacs”.

The idea was to make use of the talents of people from Frontenac County to produce an informative booklet that includes information about the way people interact with the natural environment in Frontenac County in the way they make their living and spend their leisure time.

The project was a partnership between the Stewardship Council, with Gray Merriam taking a leadership role as editor/driving force, Frontenac County providing funding for printing costs to the tune of $9,000, and the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation providing funding to hire White Lake resident Meghan Balogh, who did the design and layout of the booklet.

“What Meghan also brought to the project, basically as a volunteer, was her talents as a photographer, which is what has given the booklet a lot of its appeal,” said Gray Merriam.

The final product, which will be presented to Frontenac County Council next month, is, in Merriam’s words “as rich as diverse as the Frontenacs themselves”.

It includes articles on stewardship, forestry, endangered species, lakes, fishing, hunting, encountering nature, tourism, art, biodiversity and the most iconic feature of the north end of the county, bedrock. Several “Frontenac Success Stories”, which were first printed in the Frontenac News last summer, are included as well. Residents of Frontenac County wrote almost all of the articles in the booklet.

“We hope that this booklet will generate increased pride in the Naturally Rich Frontenacs and provide a starting place for planning how we can plan to be effective stewards of the remarkable inheritance that we share and will pass on to others,” said Merriam in his introduction.

Effective stewardship, in Merriam’s view, brings an economic reward as well, as “urban populations of Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto are expanding and they want, and can afford, some time away from high-pressure jobs to recreate their spirits.”

The booklet is also meant to promote the work and profile of the Frontenac Stewardship Council, which was formed in 1996. The council received administrative support and a limited amount of seed money from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, but operates as an independent, volunteer-run organisation that works to identify stewardship challenges and gaps, develop partnerships and fund environmental initiatives throughout the county. These initiatives in the past have ranged from tree planting programs, to enhancing spawning beds, to support for landowners interested in developing stewardship plans for their properties.

The stewardship council also provides landowners and others with environmentally related information, and each year sponsors a number of talks and workshops throughout the county on topics as diverse as Fishers, Loons, invasive species, and more. The council meets monthly.

(The Naturally Rich Frontenacs is a free booklet that will be available in the coming weeks at area stores and restaurants, and starting next month, at township offices and other locations.)

A web version of the Naturally Rich Frontenacs has been produced as well. It can be viewed at naturallyrichfrontenacs.com.

The Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust Conservancy works with landowners wishing to protect their treasured bit of wilderness. Kevin Callan celebrates Ontario wilderness as a prolific author, an entertaining and informative speaker and an outdoor enthusiast who has been labelled the "Red Green” of the paddling and camping world. They are coming together in Lanark Village on Sunday, May 1st when the MMLTC and Nature Lover’s Bookshop will be hosting Kevin for an afternoon of laughter and enlightenment.

Kevin Callan is a well-travelled canoe guide, averaging over a dozen wilderness trips a year, a popular speaker and leader in nature, canoeing, and photography workshops. He is the author of thirteen books, including the hugely popular Paddler’s Guide series and the best-selling The Happy Camper. His writing and photography appears in Canadian Geographic and Ontario Nature and he is Field Editor for several magazines including Explore, Seasons, and Outdoor Canada. Callan hosts his own CBC Radio show coast to coast and is also a frequent guest on radio and television. He is a winner of four National Magazine Awards and four film awards including “best of” in the prestigious Waterwalker Film Festival. For the last 21 years he has taught Environmental Issues, Wilderness Ethics, and Wildlife Photography at Sir Sandford Fleming College and currently works with at-risk high school students in a program designed to introduce youth to college level courses in wilderness values and environmental leadership. He lives with his family in Peterborough, the birthplace of the modern day canoe. His presentation will also celebrate the release in April of his latest paddling book, Top Fifty Canoe Routes of Ontario. From cool camp gadgets to skinny dipping etiquette, Kevin will share his philosophical views on why we like to go outdoors and how to make it even more enjoyable. This is a show you won’t want to miss.

The Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust Conservancy currently has an ambitious property acquisition program under which the organization, on behalf of the community, will ensure long term protection of ecologically significant local lands, the very wilderness that Callan celebrates.

Come to the Royal Canadian Legion in Lanark Village on Sunday, May 1st for a 2:00 p.m. presentation by this fun, informative and intrepid outdoorsman as he looks at why we love wilderness and how to get more enjoyment from this gift of nature. The $10 entrance fee will support the MMLTC 2011 Property Acquisition Program. The presentation will be followed by book signing and conversation over coffee and cake at Nature Lover’s Bookshop across the street.

More information on this event can be found at www.natureloversbookshop.ca, www.mmltc.ca or by calling (613) 259-5654.