Bruce Trail Conservancy engages in $60 million fundraising challenge to protect the Bruce Trail

DUNDAS, ON, Dec. 2, 2024 /CNW/ - The Bruce Trail Conservancy (BTC) is pleased to announce a new fundraising challenge that will support the securement of the Bruce Trail and protect thousands of acres across the Niagara Escarpment.

An anonymous couple who are Lifetime Members of the BTC have given the organization a challenge to raise $15 million annually over the next three years to help protect the remaining vulnerable lands that the Bruce Trail crosses. Once the BTC has raised $15 million designated for land securement during the year ending June 30, 2025, the anonymous couple will invest $5 million, bringing the total raised to $20 million. If successful, this challenge could continue annually until 2027, raising a total of $60 million, which is 55% of the $109 million forecasted to complete the Trail. The $60 million will accelerate the BTC's ability to secure and protect the Bruce Trail and its surrounding habitats sooner than anticipated. All gifts designated for land securement – including applicable land donations – will support this goal.

"We are grateful to our anonymous donors for this pace-setting challenge and their commitment to protecting our conservation corridor. We are excited to engage our community of donors and others that will consider joining the challenge to help us maximize this opportunity and to realize a secured Bruce Trail sooner than we could have imagined," said Marsha Russell, Vice President of Fund Development at the Bruce Trail Conservancy.

"We are pleased to have the opportunity to invest alongside other supporters of the Bruce Trail Conservancy in the Phase One program to raise $60 million over the three-year period ending June 30, 2027. Let's do this together and lay a solid foundation to complete the land securement of the Bruce Trail Conservancy's conservation corridor," said the anonymous donors.

Currently, 71.9% of the Bruce Trail is on permanently protected land, which means that approximately 30% of the Trail is still vulnerable. While progress to secure these lands continues, the BTC is sincerely grateful to the hundreds of landowners and conservation partners from Queenston to Tobermory who graciously host the Bruce Trail and allow hikers to cross their lands. Without agreements with generous landowners, the continuity of the Bruce Trail would be in jeopardy.

The Bruce Trail is a 900-kilometre world-class footpath that provides free public access to the Niagara Escarpment, one of the most significant biodiverse ecoregions in Canada. The BTC has been helping people responsibly connect with nature by way of the Bruce Trail for over 60 years, while preserving and restoring sensitive Niagara Escarpment lands. The BTC currently stewards over 15,000 acres with the support of dedicated volunteers and expert ecologists.

About the Bruce Trail Conservancy

The Bruce Trail Conservancy is one of Ontario's largest land trusts that secures, protects, and restores the vulnerable habitat and biodiversity of the UNESCO Niagara Escarpment Biosphere. For more than 60 years, we have responsibly connected people to nature through the Bruce Trail. We are a member-driven, volunteer-based, charitable organization governed by a 19-member Board of Directors. Working with each of the nine Bruce Trail Clubs, we are committed to caring for the Bruce Trail and to preserving land along its route. The Bruce Trail Conservancy is a leading Canadian environmental charity and has been named one of the 2024 Top 100 Charities in Canada by Charity Intelligence.

Bruce Trail Conservancy staff members are available for interviews upon request.

SOURCE Bruce Trail Conservancy

Media Contact: Ali Schofield, Manager of Communications, Bruce Trail Conservancy, [email protected] | 905.529.6821 ext. 252