Cottage-Related Charities

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• Algonquin Park
  Website: www.algonquinpark.on.ca
  Visit this site to browse listings of seasonal programs and special events offered in the park. Users can also find information about area wildlife and brush up on wildlife viewing dos and don’ts. This site is home to an online bookstore that sells park maps and trail guides as well as their highly regarded series of nature books. The Friends of Algonquin Park is a registered charity.
  
• Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary
  Website: www.aspenvalleywildlifesanctuary.com
  The Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary is a Rosseau-area wildlife reserve where injured or orphan animals are nursed back to health until they can return to the wild. Their website includes tips on what to do if you find wildlife in need of help, as well as a downloadable PDF guide to co-existing with wildlife in cottage country. A registered charity, their Adopt-an-Animal Program makes a great gift. Recipients will receive a picture, story and adoption certificate of one of the Sanctuary's residents.
  
• Cottage Dreams
  Website: www.cottagedreams.org
  If your cottage sits empty all week and you’d like to see it put to use, consider participating in the Cottage Dreams program. Here’s how it works: You donate a Sunday-to-Friday (or more) stay at your cottage to a recovering cancer patient and their family, so they can enjoy a relaxing break at the lake, free of charge. Visit the site to find out about participating in the program as a donor or recipient, or to make a cash contribution.
  
• Ducks Unlimited Canada
  Website: www.ducks.ca
  Ducks Unlimited’s website has detailed descriptions of waterfowl (some include audio and video clips), information on wetlands and their preservation, and downloadable plans for building a duck nest or a bat box. Support wetland conservation and research by making a donation to Ducks Unlimited.
  
• Earthroots
  Website: www.earthroots.org
  Earthroots is an Ontario-based environmental activist group devoted to wilderness protection through grassroots education programs. For example, from their main site, you can connect to Wolves Ontario, full of wolf trivia and biological information designed to "change the way we look at wolves." The Park Alert! sub-site explores threats to two protected cottage-country wilderness areas, Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park and Mellon Lake, northeast of Belleville. Earthroots is a charitable organization.
  
• Federation of Ontario Naturalists
  Website: www.ontarionature.org
  Detailed information about the group’s conservation programs, descriptions and directions to the 20 nature reserves in its care, and extensive links to other naturalist organizations around the province. Donations to this charitable organization help protect nature in Ontario.
  
• Georgian Bay Association
  Website: www.georgianbay.ca
  An umbrella group encompassing 20 local associations. Link to many of those associations’ sites, view a large selection of photos taken around the north and eastern shores of the bay, find out about association events, and download issues of the GBA Update newsletter going back to 1997. The site has a boater and cottager code, research on water quality and levels, wildlife, fisheries, invasive species, taxation, First Nations issues, renewable energy, and telephone service, to name a few. You can donate to the group's charitable foundation, the Georgian Bay Area Foundation, from the website.
  
• Georgian Bay Land Trust
  Website: www.gblt.org
  This group works to protect the uniqueness of the eastern shore and North Channel of Georgian Bay through the securement and stewardship of land that has ecological, geological and historical importance. It is a not-for-profit, registered charity.
  
• Hike Ontario
  Website: www.hikeontario.com
  If you haven’t already explored all the trails that skirt your back 40, take advantage of links to hiking clubs and trail maps. (See also www.trailpaq.com.) Hike Ontario is a registered charity.
  
• Nature Conservancy of Canada
  Website: www.natureconservancy.ca
  If you’ve been thinking of donating your cottage land or establishing a conservation easement on your property, this is the place to go to find out how. A charitable organization, they can also send out cards for money donations made on a friend's behalf.
  
• Ontario Hospital Locator (Ontario Hospital Association)
  Website: www.oha.com/
  Cottage country hospitals work hard to keep us healthy. Consider making a donation to your local hospital. To find your hospital, click the Hospital Locator button on the left hand column. Use the locator's search field at the top of the page to find hospitals by name or by the town in which it is located.
  
• Royal Ontario Museum
  Website: www.rom.on.ca
  Scan field guides to birds (including bird calls), amphibians, and fish. The site also hosts the ROM/Ministry of Natural Resources’ Species at Risk section with detailed info (including range maps) for all the flora and fauna in Ontario listed from vulnerable (eastern grey wolf) to extinct (passenger pigeon). The ROM is a charitable organization.
  
• The Wildlands League
  Website:www.wildlandsleague.org
  The Ontario chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society has been a leader in fighting many environmental threats to the province’s lakes and forests. The group is currently onside with cottagers protesting a quarry on Mellon Lake, near Kaladar, Ont. Learn what’s at stake and how you can get involved. The Wildlands League is a charitable organization.
  
• The Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre
  Website: www.wyemarsh.com
  The Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre in Midland promotes an understanding of the environment and wildlife with year-round programs. Take a canoe for a spin through the marsh - home to a diverse array of birds and mammals. Explore their hiking and walking trails on your own or with an Outdoor Educator. The Wye Marsh is a registered charity.
  
• Tree Canada Foundation
  Website: www.treecanada.ca
  Ever wondered which types of trees are growing in your back forty? The website for the non-profit Tree Canada Foundation includes a searchable index of Canadian conifers and their deciduous counterparts. Listings include photos of bark, leaves, flowers, cones, and other identifying features. Also contains a detailed tree-planting guide. Tree Canada Foundation is a registered charity.

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