President's message
Board of Directors

  • President  Carol Tisdall
  • Past President David Stringer 
  • Vice-President Christine Trudeau             ​
  • Treasurer Ida Everest
  • Secretary Mary Higginson
  • ​Director Joëlle Claudon​​
  • Director  Thaila Riden​
  • Director ​​Jean Kronberg
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​[email protected]



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President`s Message
President’s Report at our Annual General Meeting held on November 17, 2025

We’ve had a vibrant and engaging year filled with Speakers, outings, events, and two successful fundraisers.

Our two Spring Speakers were:

a) Hugh Metcalfe, who talked about landscaping for the future by integrating native plants in our gardens.

b) Lyla Chiasson, a 16-year-old student from Perth, Ontario, was sponsored by the Nature Society to attend the Ontario Nature Youth Summit in September 2024. Her heartfelt thank-you letter inspired us to invite her to speak in person about her experiences. We were also honoured by the presence of Champlain Mayor, Normand Riopel, who graciously accepted our invitation to attend Lyla’s presentation, since his Warden’s Fund contributed significantly to her sponsorship.

Our three Fall Speakers were:

a) Dick Bakker, who spoke about the best place for renewables—the distribution electricity grid and citizen ownership. Among other things, we learned about the benefits of energy being more decentralized.

b) Owen Clarkin, President of the Ottawa Field Naturalist Club and Events Organizer, gave a very enthusiastic and passionate talk on the importance of citizen science in Eastern Ontario and introduced us to many varieties of trees, bushes, and plants.

c) And now, we’ve been privileged to learn from Ida Everest about Countertop Hydroponics and Indoor FoodCycling.

In the outing and events department:

a) We started the year with a snowy owl outing at the end of January. Although we didn’t manage to see any owls this time around, the Members enjoyed each other’s company while carpooling around the countryside and ended up socializing over a nice meal at Herb’s Travel Plaza afterwards.

b) In April, we participated in a Spring-clean up in honour of Earth Day. We picked up an interesting assortment of debris along the Prescott-Russell Recreational Trail, just off Highway 34.

c) In May, there was an outing to Cooper Marsh Conservation Area in South Glengarry. We had a very informative and enjoyable guided tour in spite of the rain.

d) Also in May, we participated in a local protest to demand that the Ontario Government withdraw Bill 5, as it would have direct implications for wildlife conservation, etc. Thaila Riden was instrumental in organizing this protest.

e) In June, we awarded a Nature Society Bursary to a VCI graduate.

f) During the Summer, there were some social get-togethers at Le Chenail, by the Hawkesbury Bridge, where Christine Trudeau would invite us to look through her scope for some great birdwatching. We have seen Red-tailed Hawks, Bald Eagles, Blue Herons, as well as an assortment of Ducks and Geese. One of these outings took place at the Hawkesbury dog park/baseball diamond where a pair of ospreys have been nesting on the tall lights there for many years. We were thrilled to observe that although the pair had to rebuild their nest from scratch following an upgrade to LED lighting, they accepted their new situation quite readily and raised a young one.

g) In August, we were invited to have an information booth at the Pollinator/Bee Festival in Alexandria. We had lots of fun explaining about Monarch butterflies, among other things, met many people, and were even interviewed by an independent French media outlet from Cornwall called “On a le choix”.

h) In October, we participated in a Vankleek Hill Tree Tour presented by Eco East. We even had a couple of participants all the way from Russell join in on the fun.

i) A little over a week ago, some Members volunteered at the Vankleek Hill Christmas Home Tour – our Society is one of the non-profits in the region to benefit financially from this endeavour.

j) We are also one of the non-profit organizations who helped sponsor a Community Float to be part of the Champlain Christmas Parade this year taking place on Friday, November 28th.

We held two Fundraisers as well:

a) In the Spring, we had bags of sheep manure, a big assortment of plants, decorative items, and baked goods in a new location – the Medical Centre across from the Vankleek Hill Post Office.

b) In the Fall, we had an ideal outdoor location at the Farmer’s Market at the St-Grégoire Elementary School in Vankleek Hill. Again, a nice variety of plants and ornamental items were sold.

And now, with the early appearance of snow, we have started once again to fill the bird feeder at the Prescott-Russell Recreational Trail just off HWY 34. It is a bird feeder the Society has maintained for many years, much to the birds’ delight.

We’re also very much looking forward to the upcoming Wine and Cheese Event for our Nature Society Members – a great opportunity to enjoy great food and drink and to get to know one another better.

Last, but certainly not least, the yearly Audubon VKH Christmas Bird Count will take place on Sunday, December 14th. For further details, please contact our Vice-President, Christine Trudeau.

As you can see, the Vankleek Hill and District Nature Society is very active, engaged, lots of fun, and well worth supporting.

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Carol Tisdall
President
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