Muskoka Heritage Foundation
Natural Heritage Stewardship 2009 Award Recipients

Residential/Rural Category

Frank and Sigrid Schaly
Huntsville

Frank and Sigrid Schaly acquired 847 acres of land near Huntsville, including an estimated 2-3 kilometres of shoreline on Cooper Lake.  The shoreline is completely undeveloped with the exception of a small dock which doubles as a solar-powered 12x20 foot barge.

When building their own log home on a small section of the property, the Schalys made a conscious effort to preserve mature trees and understory.  There is no grass, no paving, and only the necessary clearing over the septic bed is a wildflower bed.  The home is well set back from the lake and there is only a narrow wood chip path down to the lake. The Schalys estimate that approximately 300 acres of the property remain unlogged.  There is a drought-resistant perennial garden with a combination of native and non-native species in the immediate vicinity of the house.

The Schalys home is off the grid, and is powered primarily by large solar panels, with a gas generator and wood-burning fireplace for supplementary use in the winter. The Schalys goal is to reduce energy consumption to the point at which there is no need for use of their emergency generator.  Additional efforts regarding energy and water conservation include the use of low-flush toilets, on-demand water heater, solar-powered and low-energy lights at the entrance to the home, low energy appliances and exclusive use of line-drying or fireside drying of clothing (no electric dryer). The Schalys enjoy stargazing at their property, thanks to dark-sky friendly lighting.

Eleanor Kee Wellman
Bala

Eleanor owns 38 acres in two parcels on a small lake near Bala.  The property is in a natural state with no lawn, and there has been a minor limbing of trees to allow a view.  There is a small pole dock on the lake.  Eleanor's flower gardens are all native species and there is a wild flower garden over the septic field instead of lawn.  The property is kept natural close to the house to allow views of wildlife and wildlife are encouraged to come close through the selective use of feeding (such as the placement of beaver carcasses to attract fishers!).  Eleanor is well known for her passion, appreciation and knowledge of wildlife, which is demonstrated through her wildlife photography (check out her website: http://eleanorkeewellman.com/

Scott Young & Martha Armstrong
bracebridge

Scott and Martha own a house in Bracebridge and this Natural Heritage Award demonstrates that good stewardship can exist in urban properties as well. 

Their house is a straw bale house and was added onto the original log cabin on the property; the house was built to fit the lay of the land.  Their property contains many "green" features, including a short gravel driveway (not paved), minimal lawn which is mowed with a hand mower, small inconspicuous path to the front door, and a natural undisturbed wetland occurs behind the house.

Mona Cottage
Gravenhurst

The Kennedys own 200+ acres on Silver Lake near Gravenhurst.  The original cottage and most of the property has been in the family since the 1890s.  The original cabin was built in 1875, and has been in the family since 1913; the present cottage contains part of the original cabin. Today, there is a small boathouse and about 20 feet of developed shoreline which includes a walkway to the boathouse along a swampy piece of shoreline.  Otherwise the shoreline has been left natural.  There is a clay tennis court close to the shoreline which was built in 1920.  Recently the family bought 50 acres of land adjacent to their property, adding to their land holdings.  Several trails take you to different parts of the property.  The family is considering a managed forest plan for the property with wildlife management being an important goal of the plan.

Commercial Category

Muskoka D&M Development Corp. (Doug Gray)
Granite Trail
Gravenhurst

This condo development in Gravenhurst shows that commercial developments can be built in a way that shows good stewardship of urban properties.  The developer chose to develop in the built-up area of Gravenhurst within walking distance of stores instead of a more remote rural location.  The building is built to a high environmental standard with well-insulated walls, hot water on-demand heaters, and efficient individually-controlled heating in each unit.  Consideration was given to going solar but the technology is still not there for this to be done economically just yet.  The building kept the character of the area with the maintenance of granite outcrops, and maintaining naturally treed areas immediately adjacent to the building.  Native species or species favoured by butterflies were planted where site disturbance occurred.  Underground parking was used to minimize the footprint on the land.  A significant portion of the land was left in an undeveloped state.

2009 Joint Natural Heritage & Built Heritage Stewardship Award

Tadenac Club
Township of Georgian Bay

Natural Heritage

The Tadenac property is an exemplary example of private land stewardship.  This property, about 4900 acres, was acquired from the crown between the late 1870s and 1884.  Today, the only structures on the property are a lodge, a caretaker's house and some docks.  No other high impact development or land uses have occurred on this property.  Natural processes have been allowed to occur, with the result that there are many examples of pristine older-growth forests and representative upland and wetland vegetative communities for the Georgian Bay coast on the property.  The property has been subject to a number of scientific investigations and studies, including a recent comprehensive life science inventory and evaluation of the watershed done in partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and there have been several studies by students from Ontario universities on both terrestrial and aquatic fauna and flora. 

The lodge is nestled on the shore with little impact.  There is minimal lawn, and natural vegetative cover surrounds the buildings.  Originally there was no running water or electricity.  The covered slip for the club boat is floating and was built about 20 years ago, while the older part of the boathouse on land is about 70 years old.  The docks were all replaced over time with floating docks, the most environmentally friendly way to build docks.  Access today is still by boat from docks located at Moose Deer Point Reserve at the end of 12 Mile Bay Road.  The Club has convened a committee to look at taking the club completely off the grid (hydro comes in via submarine cable from the mainland) which seems appropriate given the significant natural area surrounding the clubhouse.

Built Heritage

This award is for the original clubhouse on the shore of Tadenac Bay.  In 1886 a boat-access only clubhouse was built to accommodate club members and guests.  The original clubhouse still remains but was added to a number of times over the years, including the addition of a dining room and additional bedrooms in 1972.  Work to improve the structural integrity of the original clubhouse has been done recently and although the original clubhouse is not currently being used, club members are considering bringing it up to code so it can be once again be used.  The clubhouse is very rustic in nature and one immediately harks back to the early 1900s when one steps into it.  Original log books which contain the names and records of early visitors and fishing results are available for visitors to flip through.  An old stone fireplace dominates the central living area which overlooks Tadenac Bay.