Dear Friends,

We need your help to bring the voices and presence of Indigenous peoples back to our lands and green spaces.

The entire Credit River Watershed, from our headwaters in Orangeville to the mouth of the Credit River at Lake Ontario in Mississauga, is situated on the Traditional Territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabek, including the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN). As such, Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) is deeply committed to supporting Indigenous partners and exploring opportunities within the watershed to recognize and honour Indigenous territories, knowledge and culture.

We have an amazing opportunity right now and we need your help to make it happen.

The Credit Valley Trail (CVT) Indigenous Roundtable – comprised of community representatives from the MCFN, Cree and Huron-Wendat First Nations – have worked with CVC to develop the CVT Indigenous Experience Plan to bring Indigenous storytelling experiences to life along the trail through interpretive signage, public art installations, trail markers and other culturally significant amenities.

Our first step on this incredible journey begins with the construction of the Crane Gathering Space at Island Lake Conservation Area – the northern trailhead of the CVT and the first of seven Indigenous key sites along the 100-kilometre trail.

The Crane Gathering Space will be:

• An inclusive space for community-building, teaching and events
• A space for Indigenous peoples and communities to express their culture and language, and deepen their ancestral connections, traditional understanding and knowledge of the Credit River and surrounding valley lands
• A publicly accessible location for educational and recreational programming

The CVC Foundation has already secured $750,000 or 75 per cent of the funds needed to build this space.

We need your support to raise the remaining $250,000.

We humbly ask for your support to make this space a reality. You will become a part of this incredible journey to learn from our past and build present and future connections to the Indigenous significance of the Credit River Valley.

Your donation today will ensure Indigenous peoples have a meaningful and rightful place to connect with the land and water – one that will provide innovative opportunities for all to engage with Indigenous culture, language and traditional knowledge.

Yours in Conservation,

Terri LeRoux
Executive Director
Credit Valley Conservation Foundation