L to R: Barb Henderson, Board Chair of Northumberland Fair Is Fair Trade Group; Vicki Mink, GRCA Board Chair; and, Derrick Cunningham, Store Manager of Ten Thousand Villages Cobourg
Port Hope, October 21, 2024: Ten Thousand Villages Cobourg has contributed more than $7,000 to the Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority (GRCA) through its, “10,000 Trees from Ten Thousand Villages,” anniversary fundraising initiative.
At the October 17, 2024, GRCA Board Meeting, Barb Henderson, Board Chair of Northumberland Fair Is Fair Trade Group, the not-for-profit corporation which operates the store, presented a cheque for $7,335 to the Authority. The donation will fund the planting of more than 2,900 trees in the GRCA’s catchment area in 2025. An equal amount is being donated to Tree Canada, a national, not-for-profit, for tree planting throughout Canada.
“Sustainability and environmental responsibility are baked in to the fair trade business model. After the 2023 forest-fire season, reforestation was on everyone’s mind, so we wanted to commemorate our 15th anniversary as a fair-trade store with a fundraiser that would make a contribution to reforestation,” said Henderson.
“We are very pleased to receive donations to the GRCA Stewardship Program, especially coming from such a unique enterprise in Northumberland County,” said Pam Lancaster, GRCA Conservation Lands Coordinator. “We are very grateful to Ten Thousand Villages Cobourg and their customers for their support. In 2024, we planted about 24,000 trees and shrubs, so this donation will help fund a significant amount of tree planting.”
The donation will be used to plant native tree seedlings in the GRCA’s jurisdiction during 2025’s tree planting season.
About Ten Thousand Villages Cobourg
Carrying on a decades long tradition of fair trade, Cobourg is one of the three remaining Ten Thousand Villages stores in Canada. Each craft and food item is certified fair trade, meaning it supports artisans and farmers in the global south and adheres to strict principles and standards. The Cobourg store opened in 2009 and is staffed by dedicated volunteers who believe in the not-for-profit’s mission.
About the Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority (GRCA)
The GRCA is responsible for the management of 935 square kilometres of watershed and forest from Rice Lake to Lake Ontario and from Clarington to Cobourg. The Authority also manages the Ganaraska Forest, approximately 4,452 hectares (11,000 acres) of forest and the largest contiguous forest in Southern Ontario.