Lambton Shores Nature Trails wins award
Lambton Shores Nature Trails wins Conservationist of the Year Award at Partner Appreciation Evening
Close to 100 people attend Partner Appreciation Evening on March 20; Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority presents award to Lambton Shores Nature Trails
Lambton Shores Nature Trails (LSNT) is the winner of the Conservationist of the Year Award. Close to 100 people attended the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) Partner Appreciation Evening on March 20, 2025 at Ironwood Golf Club east of Exeter. The Chair of the ABCA Board of Directors, Ray Chartrand, presented the award to LSNT directors Mary Lou Tasko and Diane Smith.
“We’re honestly overwhelmed and very humbled in being recognized with this award,” said Mary Lou Tasko, after the group received the award. “Thank you for this award tonight. We really appreciate it and we look forward to many more years working with the ABCA to do good things for our community.”
She also thanked ABCA staff for their positive approach and collaboration. “We all know we’re working from the same point of view which is, ‘Let’s make this incredible place we live protected but also allow the public to enjoy the trails and make them accessible.’ ”
Nathan Schoelier, ABCA Stewardship, Lands and Education Manager, introduced the award winners. He has worked closely with LSNT in recent years. He said their volunteers have devoted thousands of hours to protecting the natural environment and providing recreational opportunities. “They really balance the environmental need with the community need,” he said.
A group of local residents – passionate about nature and hiking – started Lambton Shores Nature Trails in 2011. The group has a large and active membership and completes important projects with a number of community partners. The work of LSNT volunteers has included trail maintenance, roadside and garbage cleanup, tree planting, invasive species control, and turtle nesting protection.
Volunteers from LSNT help to maintain local conservation lands including L-Lake Management Area and Ausable River Cut Conservation Area. LSNT engages the community, including youth, in trail and environmental enhancement projects. LSNT has recognized the value of nature and outdoor recreation to physical and mental well-being. They have worked to protect, restore, and make accessible the biodiversity and uniqueness of Lambton Shores and its natural areas. Those areas include Carolinian Forest, Oak Savanna, Dunes and Swales.
These volunteers are also active erecting signs, marking trails, repairing fences. They also add amenities such as benches, viewing platforms, accessible trail loops, boardwalk extensions, story walks, and more. “Those kinds of things allow more people to enjoy the natural environment,” Tasko said. The group has initiated projects such as the wind phone and accessible docks at Ausable River Cut Conservation Area and has assisted other groups in community projects.
Ausable Bayfield Conservation presented the winner with a hand-crafted gift and is making a donation towards a tree and plaque at a Commemorative Woods site maintained by Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation. Each year, since 1984, Ausable Bayfield Conservation has recognized outstanding achievements in conservation and stewardship with a conservation award. Award winners have included rural landowners and residents, agricultural producers and farms, service clubs, community organizations, companies, nature groups, and municipalities. To learn more about the award, visit the abca.ca website’s Conservation Award web page link.
PHOTO: LAMBTON SHORES NATURE TRAILS WINS CONSERVATIONIST OF THE YEAR AWARD – Close to 100 people attended the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) Partner Appreciation Evening on Thursday, March 20, 2025. Ausable Bayfield Conservation presented Lambton Shores Nature Trails (LSNT) with the Conservationist of the Year Award. Shown in photo, from left to right, are Nathan Schoelier, ABCA Stewardship, Lands and Education Manager; Ray Chartrand, ABCA Chair; and (receiving the award) LSNT directors Diane Smith and Mary Lou Tasko. The active community group was recognized for its work since 2011 to protect biodiversity, plant trees, to control invasive species, to protect turtles and their habitat, and to support, grow and maintain a network of well-maintained trails. The volunteers with LSNT have worked countless hours maintaining and enhancing trails and conservation areas and engaging the public, including youth, in environmental enhancement and trail projects. The awards event was held at Ironwood Golf Club east of Exeter.