Throughout 2024, Cataraqui Conservation will be celebrating and commemorating its 60th anniversary. Among a number of special events and activities, we will also be publishing a series of articles featuring reminiscences from longtime current and former staff, management, board members and volunteers.
Rick Knapton was already working within the forestry field when he was hired by Cataraqui Conservation in 1991to oversee the spring tree planting crew. His role evolved as he became the Forestry Coordinator leading the entire forestry program.
Under his supervision, Cataraqui Conservation is one of the leading tree planting delivery agents in Eastern Ontario, with more than five million trees planted in the region – the vast majority over the past 10 to 15 years.
Needless to say, over the intervening three decades, the nature of the forestry program has changed significantly – particularly when it comes to funding and access to seeds and seedlings for the plantings themselves. Through it all, Knapton has been a steadying influence, and the friendly public face of the program for the many property owners and organizations who have utilized the tree-planting services offered through Cataraqui Conservation.
“Back in the day when I first started, conservation authorities received a large portion of their funding through the Province of Ontario. The Ministry of Natural Resources was in full swing with reforestation projects, so at the time the Province generally did large properties and conservation authorities, for the most part, did the smaller properties,” Knapton said.
“At that time there were also a number of provincially run tree nurseries, so the cost of seedlings was heavily subsidized making them more abundant and cheaper to purchase”.
Changes in the mid-1990s led to massive funding cuts for both conservation authorities and for provincially run forestry programs, including the closure of the aforementioned provincial tree nurseries. Knapton who was adept at sourcing out funding programs as well as developing partnerships found new ways to help maintain the forestry programs.
“We had to use private nurseries to get our seedlings, and with no subsidies the cost of seedlings went a lot higher for us and of course we had to pass that cost on to the property owners who wanted to plant trees. That meant the number of trees we planted dropped substantially,” Knapton explained.
“Fortunately, there have been numerous funding programs that came and went from different agencies and organizations. The problem with that is they are often generally short-term funding opportunities so you’re constantly researching and applying for different grants to keep the tree planting program afloat. So, we had to spend a lot of our time tracking down these various funding sources and of course they often had their own priorities as to what they wanted to plant and where.”
Because of the funding/staffing cuts, Knapton expanded his duties to include being a member of the Operations Team responsible for property maintenance and management and relocated to his current office space at the Lemoine Point Conservation Area.
One of the primary reasons why the forestry program operated by Cataraqui Conservation at Lemoine Point has been so successful has been, in large part, due to the invaluable service and support provided by the Friends of Lemoine Point volunteers. Working with Knapton, the group started, grew and maintains the popular native plant nursery and hosts tree planting sessions and popular tree sales each year.
“Of course, Lemoine Point has quite a history and it is certainly our most heavily used property. In order for us to maintain some sort of capacity to manage the property and the forestry program opportunities arose to start up a Friends organization [26 years ago]. And the Friends have been essential in helping us achieve what we have over the years,” he said.
“They are a very, very dedicated group of people: between setting up and running the nursery and the public tree sales, there are so many different tasks that they help out with and take on. The Friends Board and all the volunteers have been instrumental in the running of the planting program offered at the Lemoine Point Conservation Area. They’re just good people to work with. I enjoy all my interactions with the Friends.”
Also instrumental in that success, leading to the planting of more than five million trees since the mid-1980s, has been Cataraqui Conservation’s involvement in what was originally known as the 50 Million Tree Program, under the auspices of what is now called Forests Ontario. At its core, this program offers landowners willing to plant a large number of trees significant subsidies on the cost of the planting, encouraging both reforestation and afforestation.
“The vast majority of the five million trees that have been planted by the conservation authority have been done through the 50 Million Tree Program and the (more recent) federal Trees Canada National Greening Program,” said Knapton.
“I am pretty proud of the fact that for such a small conservation authority, and with limited staffing – basically just me – that we have had a fairly big impact. I am proud of the fact that we have become a major player in the 50 Million Tree Program and with the number of trees that have been planted over the years.”
In 2022, at the Forests Ontario Annual Conference, Knapton was recognized with the Most Valuable Planter Award under the 50 Million Tree Program. “[Rick] is well respected and always willing to share his expertise to help make the planting program stronger and more responsive to the needs of the other partners and private landowners. A great Planting Delivery Agent, his planting is well run and achieves a high standard, and he continues to make valuable contributions to Forests Ontario discussions,” said the statement from Forests Ontario announcing the award.
When he signed on to oversee the tree planting programs, Knapton could not have foreseen just how much his job would become reliant on his ‘people skills’ with the need to not only interact with members of the public at Lemoine Point, but also the Friends, and the many partner organizations and other related organizations he needs to communicate with on a regular basis.
“Quite frankly, many of the [Cataraqui Conservation] staff have had to take on multiple roles, including working with a variety of partners and agencies in order for us to achieve our goals and get the job done. I have certainly become more comfortable dealing with that side of the work because I had to,” he said with a chuckle.
“Of course, you are nervous at first but then you get used to it over time and you get more confident and are able to collaborate better with your counterparts and peers to better the programs.”
The ability to pivot and do what is necessary to allow Cataraqui Conservation to continue to deliver the suite of necessary programs and services, as outlined above, is something that has been both a challenge, but also a source of pride for Knapton over his 33-year tenure.
“A conservation authority is so geared towards our municipal partners, and we rely so much on support from those municipalities that we are always keeping tabs on their priorities. As well, we’re all swayed by the mandate of the provincial government of the day, whomever they may be, especially with the revisions to the Conservation Authorities Act, which has kind of been ongoing since I’ve been here,” he said.
“One thing you can’t deny, though, is how resilient conservation authorities are and how we have been able to adapt. I don’t think there would be anybody out there who wouldn’t agree with the fact that we are very good at adapting – and that goes for all of our staff and all of our programs.”
One question all interview subjects are being asked is why conservation authorities, such as Cataraqui Conservation, are important?
“I think it’s unique within North America to have conservation authorities, with the role of managing our resources on a watershed basis. And it being our 60th anniversary, through all the changes and adaptations that have had to be made over the years, still being able to focus on managing the programs and services on a watershed bases as well as we have shown how important the work is and how dedicated the staff are,” he said.