If you are concerned about our environment, there are lots of things you can do to make it better.

Through the projects listed below, we are trying to help the natural world in and around our community through helping to bring the endangered Eastern Loggerhead Shrike back from the edge of extinction, helping children learn about the importance of water, caring for injured eagles, hawks and owls, rebuilding the forests in Oakville’s newest Conservation Area and more.

We hope you enjoy being a part of these exciting projects!

Back from the Brink – the Shrike Recovery Project at Mountsberg Raptor Centre

Right now, we’re working on our most exciting project ever – we are working to help bring the endangered Eastern Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus migrans) back from the edge of extinction in Canada. Based on latest field studies, only 35 pairs have been observed in the wild. In order to prevent extinction, there need to be upwards of 500 pairs in the wild.

In order to help prevent the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike from becoming extinct, we will be building a captive breeding facility near the Raptor Centre at Mountsberg to house and breed Loggerhead Shrikes. Hatchlings from the program will be released into the wild starting in 2012.

For more information on Back from the Brink, the Shrike Recovery Project, click here.

The Conservation Halton Foundation has set a goal to raise $125,000 to build our captive breeding facility at Mountsberg. So far, $108,000 has been raised. We’re just $17,000 away from our goal.

To make your donation to the Mountsberg Shrike Project, call the Foundation at (905) 336-1158 extension 255, or click here to make your gift online through Canada Helps.

Halton Children’s Water Festival

The Halton Children’s Water Festival held at the Kelso Conservation Area in Milton, continues to be a favourite with elementary school students in our community. More than 4,000 students from grades 2 to 5 learn about the importance of water through fun and interactive curriculum-linked activities. The four day Festival runs the last week of September every year with this year’s festival taking place September 25th to 28th, 2012.

The Water Festival is in its 7th year and continues to run in partnership between Conservation Halton and the Region of Halton, the Town of Oakville, Milton, Halton Hills and the City of Burlington.

Through six years of the Festival, approximately 20,000 students have had the opportunity to learn about water through the program. Over that time, the Festival has increased attendance levels by 25% and we’re able to provide great water-related programming to Halton students from Grades 2 to 5 each year.

In order to keep the Festival accessible, the cost for visiting students is $4 per student and is free of charge for adult chaperones, teachers and volunteers.

You can help children learn about our most natural resource by supporting the 2012 Halton Children’s Water Festival at one of the following levels:  

• Watershed Level Supporter ($10,000 +)
• Lake Level Supporter ($5,000 - $9,999) 
• River Level Supporter ($1,000 - $4,999) 
• Stream Level Supporter ($500 - $999) 
• Wetlands Level Supporter ($100 - $499) 

For information on Sponsorship Benefits for the 2012 Halton Children’s Water Festival, Contact us to find out more.

For additional information on the Halton Children's Water Festival and for a list of supporters of the Festival, please visit the Halton Children's Water Festival website.


Adopt a Raptor program

You can adopt one of our resident raptors from the Mountsberg Raptor Centre through the Adopt a Raptor program – such as Echo, Teddy or Bean (above).

Your gift will be used to fund veterinary care, training and food for our raptors; purchase equipment for ecologists to learn about raptors and their habitat; and construct new facilities or purchase of important habitat areas.

Click here for a full color brochure with full details about the Adopt a Raptor program.

Adopt a raptor for a year and get a FREE Individual pass or a FREE Family pass.

Burlington BlueCreeks Project 

The Burlington BlueCreeks Project is a community-based stewardship program designed to enhance the health of our local waterways.

The project’s first phase was completed in Spring 2010 and made many positive impacts, including:

• The removal of 500 lbs of trash from 2,500 meters of stream bed,
• The removal of invasive plant species from an area the size of four football fields, 
• The removal of 400 carp – a destructive, invasive fish species – from the Hendrie Valley Marsh.

We’re now raising funds for 2011-2012 projects to clean up our creeks, bring the fish back to our streams and create new habitat for waterfowl.

Click here to contact us to make a donation to the Burlington BlueCreeks Project.

For a Project Summary on the success of Phase 1 of the Burlington BlueCreeks project, click here.

For more information, go to the Burlington BlueCreeks website.

The Burlington BlueCreeks Project is a community-based stewardship program that is run in partnership by Conservation Halton Foundation, Conservation Halton, the Hamilton-Halton Watershed Stewardship Program, the Bay Area Restoration Council and the Royal Botanical Gardens.

You can plant trees, preserve sensitive natural lands and protect our local waterways.  You can also help our children become great stewards of the environment through a range of environmental programs.   

If you have any questions call Brian Hobbs 905.336.1158 extension 255 or e-mail found@hrca.on.ca.