Margaret Kelch: Keeping her love for nature alive

Margaret Kelch was involved in countless conservation projects during her nine years on the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) national and Ontario regional boards, but there’s one project that keeps her coming back time and time again.

“My favourite and the first project I ever worked on with the Ontario staff was Happy Valley,” says the former Ontario board chair. “It’s such a special, special place surrounded by all this urban growth.”

Just half an hour outside of Toronto, the Happy Valley Forest is the largest remaining intact forest of its kind on the Oak Ridges Moraine. 

Despite being just 45 minutes from Margaret’s home, the tranquil green space was unknown to her until her 2005 recruitment to NCC’s Ontario board. Now, years later, it remains one of her favourite places to hike, bird and explore for salamanders under the rocks.

“It’s an incredible get-into-nature-and-clear-your-brain kind of place. In the spring, it’s a great spot to bird, and enjoy the massive trees, the scarlet tanagers calling, bobolinks in the adjacent fields and cuckoos nesting. I just cannot believe how wonderful the natural experience is there.”

Margaret feels that way about many of the properties protected by NCC, a number of which she has had the privilege of visiting over the years. “From the piping plovers on the East Coast shores to the grizzlies at Darkwoods, every one of the landscapes protected by NCC is a key piece of Canada’s biodiversity,” she notes.

It’s why, seven years after the conclusion of her last NCC board appointment, Margaret has agreed to take on a new volunteer role as co-lead of NCC’s Ontario Ambassadors’ Circle. She and former fellow Ontario board member Garry Innanen are championing ways of keeping the current and former NCC board members across Ontario informed and engaged in whatever way works best for them.

For some, that means opening the door to prospective new donors or calling people to thank them for their gift. Others may choose to spend time in the field, helping to guide property tours (when  again allowed to do so!) or care for NCC’s properties. The opportunities for engagement are boundless and entirely personal, which is why Margaret has already settled on one way that she hopes to help.

“If you want me to show off Happy Valley, my boots are on!” she laughs.