Cowichan Community Land Trust Society
The Cowichan Land Trust is a non-profit society located in Duncan, British Columbia. It is a registered charity in Canada and is entitled to hold conservation covenants in British Columbia. It was founded in 1995 by a group of concerned citizens who wished to help landowners find alternatives to the degradation of natural areas and wildlife habitat.
Purpose
The Cowichan Community Land Trust is committed to conserving, protecting, and enhancing the quality of the human and natural environment in and near the Cowichan Valley Regional District, British Columbia, Canada.
Mission
We help to take care of the land and water in the Cowichan Valley for the benefit of all life now and in the future. We do this by acquiring land, entering into conservation agreements, and by providing education and support to individuals and other groups who are caring for the land.
Board of Directors
Stephanie Cottell, Executive Director
MSc Education for Sustainability
Steph is a curious life-long learner passionate about ecological (including social and cultural) conservation and restoration, and exploring a holistic approach to living systems that benefits the wellbeing of Earth and all Earth’s inhabitants. She is a grateful tender of the land and waters.
Kelly Loch,
Vice President
Kelly first joined the Land Trust in April 2019. Previously a Forester with BC Provincial Government, Kelly now works as the Projects Coordinator with the Stewardship Centre for BC. Kelly is motivated to be part of the Cowichan Land Trust because she wants to contribute to the protection of the environmental values that make the Cowichan so special.
Roger Wiles, CCLT Treasurer
Roger has an affinity for and fascination with forests. He has lived and worked in the forests of BC and New Zealand. A geographer by degree, his working career has spanned forest land inventory appraisal to the day-to-day management of a forested university research station. As a sawmill engineer, he witnessed wood utilization up close. Recreationally and spiritually he is a lifelong practitioner of "forest bathing."
As a community volunteer, Roger was a member of the CVRD’s Regional Parks and Trails Master Plan Advisory Committee, the CVRD’s Environment Commission, and now lends a hand with the restoration and maintenance of Nature Conservancy of Canada lands.
Born on Vancouver Island, Roger has lived and worked in the Cowichan Valley for forty years. Native forest ecosystem recovery and sustainability focus his attention and heighten his appreciation for this place. "It is up to us to restore and revere our life support system. We are the stewards and trustees of this land."
Eve Savory
I was born in Duncan, living with my parents on the property my widowed grandmother had bought in 1920 and turned into a seed farm. I grew up with a cornfield outside the door, salmon in the creek and eagles overhead. When I left the Island for a career in broadcasting, stories about agriculture and about nature followed. And they were often stories of peril, of climate change and drought and habitat loss and more. The Cowichan Valley still has precious space for nature and for sustainable agriculture, but the threat to both is present and growing. The Cowichan Community Land Trust’s mission is to help the whole community conserve land and water, so wilderness and local food can survive and thrive.
What is a Land Trust?
Land Trusts (also called conservancies) are non-profit charitable societies that operate for the benefit of all living things, and are dedicated to the conservation, protection and management of our natural and cultural heritage. The conservation of privately owned land is done through public education programs, cooperative landowner contact and stewardship programs, holding conservation covenants, land purchases and donations.
Land Trusts rely on community support through volunteers, memberships, and donations. For more information about land trusts, visit www.landtrustalliance.bc.ca.
Governing Documents
