Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust

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Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust

TIWLT is a Canadian non profit Land Trust within the Frontenac Arch Biosphere in Eastern Ontario Welcome to the Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust!

We are located at the head of the St. Lawrence River, east of Lake Ontario, in eastern North America. We include the watershed of the Thousand Islands area and north to the Rideau Waterway Land Trust. The Thousand Islands is a natural area of more than 1,800 islands on a shared border with the United States. It is one of the most biologically diverse natural areas in the world. This is due to the

Frontenac Arch, a granite land bridge that connects the Adirondack Mountains to the Canadian Shield and the west- east migration on the St. Lawrence River. It is a part of the Frontenac Arch Biosphere, the crossroads of the continent.

06/17/2026

We now have a “Turtle Parking Only” space at our home base at the Glen Elbe Learning Centre. The video shows the Snapping Turtle laying her eggs, covering them, and finding her way around afterwards. She must have been pretty tired by the end of the day. We first noticed her early in the morning starting to dig. She abandoned her first site and tried digging a couple more sites before she decided on this spot. She was hanging around Glen Elbe all day searching for this spot, that was just right.

📸 Thank you to TIWLT Head Wildlife Biologist Maggie, Summer Biologist Alexis, and Board President Don, for these photos and videos.

06/15/2026

This not-so-little cutie captivated our Biology & Education staff at the Glen Elbe Learning Centre on Friday!

Rebecca, Graeme, Maggie, and Alexis, watched this Gray Ratsnake hang out along the base of the tree before making its way into the old well. If it’s the same one as last year, it has grown to 3x the size that it was. Great news!

Rebecca and Graeme were getting a turtle nest protector box from the barn to cover a snapping turtle nest, when they spotted the beauty.

We suspect the snake may live in that area, either in the well or under the barn, but definitely likes the tree. Gray Ratsnakes are important to ecosystems in the Thousand Islands because they help control rodent populations, support food-web balance as both predator and prey, and serve as an indicator of healthy, connected habitats.

06/12/2026

🍓🎻 Strings & Strawberries at Glen Elbe
Imagine a warm June evening. The scent of summer gardens in the air. Fresh strawberries in hand. The sound of strings drifting across a historic landscape as the sun begins to set.

Join us for a magical evening at Glen Elbe Learning Centre, where music, nature, and community come together in support of local land conservation.

🎻Enjoy an intimate performance by TRIOLA and QUARTESSENCE, featuring musicians from the Kingston Symphony. From lively fiddle tunes and beloved classics to unexpected contemporary favourites, this string quartet performance promises a rich and memorable musical journey.

🍓And yes - fresh strawberries will be served throughout the evening 🍓

🌿 Every ticket helps support the Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust’s work protecting the natural spaces, wildlife habitat, and scenic beauty that make this region so special.

📍 Glen Elbe Learning Centre, 870 County Rd 42, Athens, ON
🗓 June 24, 7–9pm
🎟 $25 per person

🔗 Tickets available here 👉🏽 https://tiwlt.ca/events-page/

Come savour the music, stroll the grounds, enjoy fresh strawberries, and celebrate the landscapes we all cherish.

06/09/2026

🐍 Our biology crew was hard at work yesterday, giving some important reptile habitat a refresh!

The team was out checking our Gray Ratsnake nesting boxes with Shaun from the Leeds Grenville Stewardship Council.

These boxes were installed one year ago, and yesterday our Lead Wildlife Biologist Maggie, was joined by summer Biologists Graeme and Alexis, along with Shaun Thompson, to service boxes at the Leeder, Mabee, and Conger-Smith properties.

They removed old wood chips and composted material from each nesting box before topping them up with fresh wood chips and straw - helping ensure these nesting sites remain in great condition for the season ahead.

06/06/2026

Thank you for capturing the beauty at Glen Elbe, Robert!

In August at our big event – Celebrate 4ever Summer Party – Keystone Connections – you will have a delicious sit down table dinner in these beautiful gardens. Stay tuned for more details to come. You will want to be there!

📸 The lupine are at their peak at Glen Elbe!😍

06/05/2026

We had a spectacular day at the Glen Elbe Learning Centre on Monday! We were visited by grade 5/6 students & their teacher from Heritage Community Christian School. Their science class has been studying biodiversity and the curriculum fits perfectly with what we do at TIWLT.

Our Educator Rebecca and Biologist Graeme, had a group of about 22 students learning about species at risk and wetland ecology through a pond study. Students found tons of leaches, water bugs, small invertebrates and even a 3-spiked stickleback (the fish pictured).

Following the tour Graeme took the group on a bio blitz where we identified both native and invasive species at Glen Elbe.

Students loved using the microscopes to look at the leaches and other biota present in the pond samples 🐟🌱🪲

Inspiring students to love biodiversity and understand the natural world around them is so exciting for us here at the land trust! Thank you to Graeme Podsiad for the photos of these wonderful faces and afternoon activities!

06/04/2026

TODAY ONLY!! We still have quite a few tomato plants left at the Glen Elbe Learning Centre that we’d like to sell.

The greenhouse will be cleaned out tomorrow afternoon whether we sell them all or not. Plants will be sold for $2 each. Stop in at Glen Elbe - 870 County Road 42 in Athens, ON anytime until 4 today!

Address

870 County Road 42
Athens, ON
K0E1B0

Website

http://www.tiwlt.ca/

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