SUCCESSFUL EIS CAMPAIGN ADDS 21 ACRES TO WILDWOOD TRUST

Press Release

Ladysmith – The Ecoforestry Institute Society (EIS) is very pleased to announce we have reached our goal of raising $850,000 for the purchase and closing costs of the 21 Acres. “Our heartfelt thanks go to the hundreds of donors who gave to protect these 21 acres of intact biodiversity and old growth,” said Kathy Code, EIS Chair, adding, “and of course, to our very generous benefactor who galvanized donors into giving with the $100,000 Matching Funds Campaign. We are forever grateful for the strong community support and love for Wildwood.”

Grace Richard was once married to Merv and spent more than 30 years at Wildwood. She, too, is moved by the generosity of the community:

Having been part of Mervyn’s life for 80 years, supported his dream, and invested my Gerritsen’s family inheritance into Wildwood, I am at peace knowing we have all played a part in honouring and protecting this special forest. To everyone who ever visited, lived, worked, or had memories of Wildwood, to all the indigenous children who lived and created memories of the forest, the lake, the wildlife of Wildwood, treasure the memories and know that you are thanked by all of it. And to all who walked with, or beside me during my 80 years from childhood to “ancient” on this piece of the earth, I hope you remember the good times, the pets, the laughter, and the tears.

The 21 Acres was once part of the original Wildwood Ecoforest owned by Merv and Grace. At one point, Merv gave half of Wildwood to his son Dennis. The land was sold, but thanks to the careful stewardship of subsequent buyers, the land has remained intact. The 21 Acres will now be placed under the Wildwood Trust created in 2016 when EIS was granted the right to keep Wildwood in the public domain. Reuniting this land with Wildwood creates a legacy of 104 acres in total of rare Coastal Douglas-fir forest that will be forever protected by the land trust deed irrevocably attached to the land title.

The 21 Acres will now be included in EIS programming for Indigenous ecological knowledge, ecotours, education, research, wildlife habitat, biodiversity, hydrology and health.

The successful campaign for the 21 Acres follows on the heels of the purchase of the 6 Acres of pristine old-growth forest acquired in 2022.

Media contact: Kathy Code, EIS Chair and Communications Director; 250 418-5313; codekat999@gmail.com

Ecoforestry Institute Society website: https://www.ecoforestry.ca/

Wildwood Ecoforest Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildwoodecoforest