New director of fund-raising named to the Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust

David Francis has been named the new Director of Marketing for the Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust (ORMLT).

The announcement was made last week by King Mayor Margaret Black, who is also chair of the Marketing and Outreach Committee of ORMLT.

Fund-raising is a critical part of securing land on the Oak Ridges Moraine for posterity, Black stated, adding Francis brings a large range of fund-raising experience and knowledge that will enable the Land Trust to expand its capacity to secure and protect the moraine.

A keen naturalist and hiker, Francis has walked most of the Oak Ridges Trail, the Ganaraska Trail, and the Bruce Trail. He is currently president of the Wilderness Club of the Ganaraska Trail.

The moraine contains the headwaters of 65 river systems (35 in the GTA alone) and has a wide diversity of streams, woodlands, wetlands, kettle lakes, kettle bogs and significant flora and fauna. It is one of the last remaining continuous green corridors in southern Ontario and it is still 30 per cent forested with one of the last refuges for forest birds.

It is the mission of ORMLT to ensure the protection of these valuable resources by securing significant moraine properties, including lands for the Oak Ridges Trail, so they are protected in perpetuity. The Land Trust, established 2000, as of the end of 2007 has now protected in excess of 3,000 acres of this environmentally significant land.

This new position has been made possible by the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation with a Trillium grant, which will provide the resource to enable multiple funding sources to partner with the Land Trust in protecting the Oak Ridges Moraine.