Our incredible volunteer, Sarah, recently spoke with one of our valued board members, Mike Douglas, about his commitment to tackling local environmental issues, making his voice heard, and the experiences that paved the path for him to do so.
Activist, not actor, is what comes to mind when speaking with OFT Board Member Mike Douglas, as both Mike and his wife Anna actively seek to understand and contribute to solutions to the environmental problems at their doorstep and beyond.
Mike and Anna’s farm, Brechin Brae, in Simcoe County, is frequented by many four-leggeds: bears, moose, deer, and rabbits on their way to their watering hole, as well as animals of flight such as the endangered Monarch Butterfly and threatened Eastern Meadowlark. Unfortunately, this idyllic environment is also frequented by dump trucks on their way to the limestone quarries or a farmer’s field, where they threaten soil and water quality by dumping building materials from the GTA’s building industry.
Soil contamination was not new to Mike. As a boy, Mike grew up in Manitoba near the gold, zinc, and copper mines, and played baseball on the “cyanide flats”. Cyanide is used to leach gold from ore, and when dumped, it causes a wasteland. Mike’s critical thinking was evident at that age, as he knew this contaminated the soil.
Mike maintained this awareness of the potential hazards of industry through his work in the energy sector, and didn’t turn away when the volume of dump trucks increased in his rural neighbourhood. He sought more information on what was being dumped and spoke to the Township about his concerns. A not-for-profit, the Ontario Soil Regulation Task Force (OSRTF) supported Mike and Anna in their work.
After learning about the Ontario Farmland Trust (OFT) at one of OFT’s outreach meetings, Mike and Anna worked with OFT to create an easement to protect and maintain their farm as farmland. They also made it their priority to add a clause to ensure Indigenous hunting and gathering would be available and ongoing.
Mike and his wife Anna have the foresight to protect not only the environment and indigenous rights, but themselves. They have incorporated as Concerned Citizens of Ramara to be able to raise concerns while mitigating the threats of reprisal.
Ontario Farmland Trust has a great asset in a man who shakes off naiveté.
