About the Foundation and the Place for Life
The Place for Life is a region with connected natural areas. A place with healthy rivers and streams, beaches you can swim in, and lakes you can fish in. Greenways and trails that connect you to each other and to the landscapes around you. A place with productive agricultural lands. A sustainable place that is resilient and can adapt to change. The Place for Life reinforces that all elements of a place are interconnected – our community, its environmental health, healthy lifestyles for our citizens and our economy. There are many ways you can get involved in enriching and sustaining the Place for Life! Share your photos, participate in one of our many events, visit a conservation area, plant a tree as a gift that honours or help us achieve our most pressing fundraising needs.
Community Priorities
Essex Region Conservation Foundation is presently raising funds to support a number of conservation projects to enrich our region as the Place for Life by:
- Greening our region and taking climate action
- Connecting our community by trails
- Inspiring future generations through outdoor education
- Preserving our heritage
- Building & maintaining a responsible, sustainable, & ethical Foundation
Learn more from our Strategic Plan.
Board of Directors
The Essex Region Conservation Foundation Board of Directors is comprised of volunteers dedicated to enriching our region as the Place for Life. Past President – Susan Stockwell Andrews, President – Claire Wales, Vice President – Brian Parent and Treasurer – Amanda Gellman serve as the Foundation’s leadership team. Read more about the ERCF Board of Directors.
Our Mission
Improving our environment to enrich our lives.
Our Vision
The Essex Region is a sustainable, resilient and vibrant place with healthy and thriving watersheds, Great Lakes, and a green culture.
Our Goal
The Essex Region Conservation Foundation will raise awareness and funds to improve the environment of the Windsor-Essex region through a variety of projects and programs that enrich our region as the Place for Life, and become the environmental foundation of choice in the Windsor-Essex-Pelee Island region.
Imagine Canada Accreditation
In 2015, the Foundation first achieved prestigious accreditation from Imagine Canada’s Standards Program for Charitable and Non-Profit Organizations, and was re-accredited in 2022. Meeting these highest standards will inspire confidence among our donors and partners. Imagine Canada is a national umbrella organization that establishes operating and governance guidelines for charities and non-profits that demonstrate excellence in board governance; financial accountability and transparency; fundraising; staff management; and volunteer management. The Foundation is also a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and adheres to the AFP Code of Conduct. Our Privacy Policy can be found here.
Our charitable registration number is 118902162RR0001.