Resource Centre

Municipalities are responsible for making land-use decisions that benefit the communities they serve and their regions most sensitive species and habitats. With changing legislation, on provincial and municipal levels, and significant federal commitments, municipalities can make protection of biodiversity a priority today. To strengthen and advance conservation efforts across Canada, this document brings together case studies from local governments who are prioritizing conservation; some strategies include Land Back, conservation tools, conservation funds, and the integration of habitat protection into official plans/policies.

This report presents the results of a national census survey of land trusts operating in Canada and affiliated with the Alliance of Canadian Land Trusts (ACLT), the Ontario Land Trust Alliance (OLTA), the Land Trust Alliance of British Columbia (LTABC), and le Réseau de milieux naturels protégés (RMN). The survey’s main purpose was to describe the Canadian land trust community.

An inventory and discussion of the benefits and options for funding for land conservation in Canada.

OLTA is pleased to announce the launch of the new Standards and Practices website, created in partnership with the Alliance of Canadian Land Trusts, the Land Trust Alliance of BC, and Réseau de milieux naturels protégés. This online program is provided as a free capacity building tool for land trusts.

The Standards and Practices website provides users with access to the new Self-Assessment Tool. This resource allows organizations to review and summarize the progress of their land trust over time. By reviewing Standards and Practices in the Self-Assessment framework, land trusts are prompted to prioritize undeveloped areas within their organization. Through completing the assessment process land trusts can also determine if essential documentation is complete or insufficient. After completing each section, land trusts can upload a collection of revised policies, procedures and guidelines, and compile a comprehensive assessment that can be updated as the organization makes progress.

The Standards and Practices website and the Self-Assessment Tool are organized in a clear, user-friendly interface. The step-by-step Self-Assessment frame work allows land trusts to complete a self-assessment at a pace determined by the user. Uploading documents during the assessment provides users with secure storage and organization of their land trust’s documentation and allows users to easily return to where they have left off. The online Self-Assessment Tool is accessible to multiple users, facilitating effective group work, and allowing collective opportunities to analyze land trust practices and policies.

Learn about one of our greatest tools in our fight against climate change  – nature! Nature Based Climate Solutions refer to actions that protect and restore nature which functions to capture and store carbon, reduce carbon emissions and help communities to adapt to the impacts of climate change

There are few cold- and cool-water trout streams remaining in the Region of Waterloo. Bauman Creek, a small tributary of the Grand River located mostly on rare property, supports a self-sustaining population of brook trout. Rare’s Bauman Creek Restoration project helped restore flow to the channel all the way to the Grand River, while also planting several hundred trees

This paper introduces a new tool for the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and partner land trusts to help manage conservation easement programs in Canada. This newly-crafted set of Best Practices and Performance Measures (BPPM) was developed with input from a diverse land trust advisory group. The suite of best practices identified in this paper constitutes a selection of the fundamental ingredients — the building blocks — of an effective conservation easement1 program.

Introduction to Cross-border Conservation Information Tools

U.S. taxpayers who own Canadian properties are often interested in transferring their property to the next generation of family members and permanently protecting their lands in Canada. In both cases, conservation can be a financially valuable strategy. There are tax incentives in both countries to encourage conservation of priority natural lands. Especially notable is how conservation can reduce or eliminate Canadian capital gains taxes on transfers, including bequests. Please explore the tools provided here to learn more.

These tools touch on the key components of U.S. taxpayers’ decisions about whether, when, and how to conserve their Canadian properties. It is not intended to provide tax or legal advice. To fully understand how the tax components mentioned will have an impact on your situation, you must confer with your accountants and lawyers in the U.S. and Canada.

The tax information provided within these tools is broadly applicable across Canada. The case studies assume that the disposition of property will be in Ontario and subject to the federal non-resident surtax rather than Ontario provincial tax. The calculations do not consider any other province’s tax regulations that may apply to a non-resident.

These tools were published in partnership by OLTA and American Friends of Canadian Conservation thanks to a grant from Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Incentives for U.S. Taxpayers Brochure

Cross-border Conservation Handbook

Learn how to tour placemarks in Google Earth Pro

Learn how to use the ArcGIS software for mapping and visualization land cover and land uses.

Learn about the ArcGIS software and how you can utilize it.

The Growing Need for Volunteers – Volunteer Canada published a report in 2002 entitled “Recruiting, Retaining and Rewarding Volunteers: What Volunteers Have to Say”. The report notes, “The most important steps that voluntary organizations could take to recruit, retain and reward their volunteers are to ensure that the experiences they provide are meaningful and facilitate personal growth”.

The National Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day for those experiencing distress as a result of residential schools. Support is available at 1-866-925-4419.

The Hope for Wellness Help Line is available 24 hours a day for those requiring counselling and crisis intervention. Online support is available in English and French or English, French, Cree, Ojibway, and Inuktituk at 1-855-242-3310.

Visit the Government of Canada webpages for more information on National Indigenous History Month.

Check out these informative resources on Ontario Nature’s Indigenous relations page Indigenous Relations – Ontario Nature

Your trusted guide to Indigenous relations for over 20 years. Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. provides training for large and small organizations and individuals.

Follow the steps outlined by the On Canada Project in their Settlers Take Action project, which provides concrete actions non-Indigenous people can take as allies.

Learn about First Nation, Inuit and Métis cultural contributions by watching films featuring First Nation, Inuit and Métis culture like those in the National Film Board’s selection of Indigenous Peoples in Canada films.

Learn about residential schools and how we can address current injustices facing First Nation, Inuit and Métis. – First Nations Child and Family Caring Society.

Familiarize yourself with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s  94 Calls to Action.

State of the Bay 2023: Protecting the Great Lake of the Spirit – Georgian Bay Biosphere

The Indigenous Circle of Experts was formed through the Pathway process to make recommendations and offer guidance on how IPCAs could be realized in Canada and contribute towards Canada’s conservation goals. Members included a core group of Indigenous experts from across Canada and officials from federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions.

The Indigenous Circle of Experts held 4 regional gatherings in each of the cardinal directions to hear from communities and governments on IPCAs. Check out the link to learn more

At OLTA we believe that, as a community, we need to learn about, engage and uphold our role within treaties, settler’s responsibilities, and natural law in order to honour our ongoing commitment to meaningful reconciliation with all Indigenous Peoples on whose treaty and ancestral territories we live and work. We are mindful of broken covenants and the need to reconcile with all our relations. OLTA recently developed a Statement on Indigenous Conservation and Engagement. Visit the link for details.

An important discussion about long term stewardship of CEAs. We will cover the enforcement of CEAs, provide examples of when extinguishment (partial or full) can occur, and the process of amending CEAs and considerations for when and how to do this.

The webinar aims to share information about GIS basics. This highlights how OLTA uses GIS tools to collect and store information and protected area reporting.

The video presents the collective accomplishments 2022-2023 presented at the OLTA annual gathering in 2023. The video highlights OLTA’s impacts, projects and partnerships. It also presents the achievements of Land Trusts across Ontario in 2022-2023.

This session aims to provided understanding of the difference between governance & operations in the land trust community.

Session 16 of the OLTCOP. This session was hosted by OLTA and focused on digital story telling and the role of communications in organizations.

Further discussion on Policy Advocacy due to the recent changes in Bill 23 and Bill 39. This session 15 also discusses raising more funds for Land Trusts through participating in the National Initiative and Andrew from Nature Canada joins in to speak about the green budget coalition and lastly, discussion on a new initiative within the organization: digital reporting using dashboards.

Join us to learn more about the reporting process for both fee-simple and conservation easement agreement properties, things to consider when reporting your properties, and learn more about resources OLTA has developed to assist land trusts with screening and reporting properties to CPCAD.

Canada’s Target 1 Initiative works towards achieving Target 1 of the 2020 Biodiversity Goals and Targets for Canada. Since the passing of the original timeline for Target 1 in 2020, the federal government has reaffirmed its commitment to Canada Target 1 committing to protect 25% of oceans and coastlines and 25% of land areas by 2025.

This session aims to talk about the basics of advocacy lobbying.

The Ontario Land Trust Alliance conducts bird surveys on member properties looking for species at risk. It is important work because all species, including humans, depend on each other to survive. This means that threatened or endangered species can put the survival of species that rely on them at risk. By conserving biodiversity, we can help: 1) Reduce disruptions in the food chain and habitats 2) Safeguard our health, communities, and economy 3) Protect and recover species at risk.

Interviewing Leaders and founders of OLTA

This webinar discusses the Greenlands Conservation Partnership Program.

This webinar discuss the best practices used to manage volunteers and build a community in which sharing of resources and participation is encouraged.

This webinar is an introduction to Land Trusts and answers the question “Why should we conserve land with land trusts?”.

This webinar discusses how we can lead and create engaging organizations.

Join us on Friday, May 27th, 2022 for a virtual session to learn more about Ontario’s bat species and the acoustic monitoring techniques that can be implemented to collect bat biodiversity data to help guide stewardship actions to benefit Ontario’s species at risk bat populations.

The Eastern whip-poor-will is a species at risk bird that is currently listed as Threatened in Ontario and federally. Join us for a virtual webinar on Friday, June 3rd to learn more about the Eastern Whip-poor-will and how to monitor for the species on your properties and help guide on the ground actions to protect the species.

OLTA’s Climate Action Working Group is hosted three free online sessions to discuss and share perspectives about land conservation and climate change. The webinar series focused on building climate resilience and adaptation with an emphasis on the role of land stewardship and conservation practices.

This is the final session in OLTA’s Climate Change Adaptation Series. Panelists will discuss climate change in Ontario, its impacts on our ecosystems and communities, and ways to increase the resilience of conservation lands. The session will include short presentations by each of the panelists followed by a facilitated discussion and Q&A.

This video is part 2 in a 3-part series on climate change adaptation. This video is an international panel discussing climate change adaptation with experts in the field. The discussion is moderated by Michael Drescher, Associate Professor, with the University of Waterloo. The panelists are Dr. Hugh Possingham, Adena Rissman, and Kelly Watkinson.

Trees and plants can be found growing all around us, from a park in the city to the front lawn of home. This network of trees and plants make up the urban forest which provides us with a wide range of benefits and services. OLTA in collaboration with CultureLink and LEAF hosted a workshop through OLTA & CultureLink’s Engaging New Canadians with Nature Program, where newcomer participants learned more about these benefits, what challenges the urban forest faces, and things they can do to help!

This session was an opportunity for the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT), with representatives from different land trusts across Ontario to learn from one another, provide a networking opportunity, and aid in collaboration. The session focused on sharing lessons on engagement organizing for positive environmental change.

The goal of this training session to introduce land trust staff and volunteers to Ontario’s bat species and the acoustic monitoring techniques that can be implemented to collect bat biodiversity data to help guide stewardship actions to benefit Ontario’s SAR bat populations.

This webinar was the first webinar of our Indigenous Learning Series, on Common Portrayals and Myths of Indigenous Peoples. This webinar targets some of those misconceptions that most Canadians believe that are true. Contributors: Gary Pritchard (Principal Consultant, 4 Directions of Conservation Consulting Services)

This newly updated guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to establish a land trust. It covers essential topics such as organizational structure, governance, legal considerations, and fundraising. With helpful tips and best practices, this guide is designed to support new and emerging land trusts in protecting natural and cultural resources. Whether you’re just starting or looking to refine your approach, this resource is your go-to reference for building a successful land trust.