ALUS came to eastern Ontario in 2012. Today, ALUS Ontario East operates within the boundaries of the Raisin-South Nation Source Protection Region. The program is led by the local Partnership Advisory Committee (PAC) with assistance from its legal entity, the Raisin Region Conservation Authority. The PAC is comprised of members from both the local farming and environmental communities.
ALUS Ontario East works with farmers and ranchers to enhance ecosystem services on marginal, inefficient, and fragile areas and on lands that can be managed in a different manner through projects that best suit their farming operations. ALUS participants receive an annual payment for every acre enrolled in the program in exchange for managing and maintaining projects that increase ecosystem services to that benefit both their farm and wider community.
ALUS Ontario East supports the establishment, management, and maintenance of various innovative and sustainable projects such as wetlands and beaver baffles, erosion control, buffers, windbreaks, grasslands, modified grazing practices, livestock exclusion fencing, and more. ALUS is voluntary and non-prescriptive, which allows for increased flexibility when designing projects to suit any farming operation. The program is always on the lookout for interesting and innovative project ideas that will bring together agriculture and nature.
Community Links
News & Events
Seed Superstar: Marc Bercier Grows Environmental Outcomes
Building on family legacy, Marc Bercier manages the landscape for the benefit of his community and future generations. ALUS team members visit Marc's project in St.Isidore during the October 2022 Eastern Jamboree. Marc Bercier is a famer and businessman...
Songs of Riverlea Acres: Stewardship for Species at Risk
The Andrews family moved to Metcalfe, ON, where they discovered they had vulnerable grassland species on their property. When the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, Kurtis and Lara Andrews took it as an opportunity to return to a rural lifestyle, moving their family to...
Learning from Communities Growing the ALUS Impact
ALUS team members met for collaborative engagement and learning at regional 2022 jamborees.In September and October 2022, ALUS organized three conferences, allowing our team members across the country to get together, tour project sites and discuss our shared...
ALUS Ontario East Coordinator
Marc Bercier, Vice-Chair, resident of La Nation
John Van Turnhout, Past Chair, resident of North Stormont
William Robertson, resident of South Glengarry
Kurt MacSweyn, resident of North Glengarry
Jacqueline Pemberton, resident of North Dundas
Ian Walker, resident of Alfred and Plantagenet
Stephen Burgess, resident of South Glengarry
Rene Lalonde, resident of North Stormont
Lisa Van De Ligt, Advisor, Raisin Region Conservation Authority
Ronda Boutz, Advisor, South Nation Conservation
Jean Saint-Pierre, Advisor, Boisés Est
Mikayla Stinson, Advisor, Ducks Unlimited Canada
Benoit Lebeau, Advisor, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
Alyssa Cousineau, Advisor, ALUS