It was a cold, crisp day in December 2019 when Rosemary (Rose) Fleguel, RVCA's resident butternut expert, pulled up in her truck to meet North Grenville woodlot owner Warren Dool at his 47-acre property. Her mission? To find any and all living and healthy butternut trees - a cause to which she has dedicated the bulk of her long career.  To say Rose is unique is an understatement — biting wit aside, she's Eastern Ontario's foremost butternut expert, and involved in every regional effort to save the rapidly disappearing endangered species. And she's had success; so much success, in fact,…

This year’s fall equinox marked the end of an era at Ferguson Forest Centre as Ed Patchell formally retired after 20 years of service as Chief Executive Officer of the Ferguson Forest Centre Corporation. Ed’ forestry career began in 1978 with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests (OMNRF), where he worked at their Thunder Bay tree nursery for eight years. In 1986, Ed relocated to Kemptville, spending 10 years at the G. Howard Ferguson Forest Station and two years as a lands technician and forester, for a total of 20 years of service with OMNRF. From 1998 to…

According to the UN, March 21st is the International Day of Forests – a day to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests. The theme for 2020 is Forests and Biodiversity. “This is a great opportunity to remind people about the benefits of forests in general and the role Ferguson Forest Centre plays in supporting them,” said Wes Herring, Vice-President of the Ferguson Forest Centre Corporation (FFC). “And with this year being the 20th anniversary of the Centre as a social enterprise, we’ve got lots to celebrate.” The Ferguson Tree Nursery is the revenue-generating side…

Celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2020, the Ferguson Forest Centre Corporation volunteer Board held its annual elections for executive officers on February 25th.   Re-elected were Carl Doucette (President), Wes Herring and Carl Cannon (Vice Presidents), and CEO Ed Patchell (Secretary). Andre Rancourt was elected as Treasurer. Ferguson Forest Centre is 1100 acres of multi-use forested land located in the Municipality of North Grenville. The Centre boasts walking and hiking trails, snowmobile and skiing trails, an arboretum, dog park, children’s areas and a waterfront park with a picnic shelter and canoe and kayak launch dock. The Centre is governed by…