And the 2024 Oxford Stewardship Award goes to… Gord and Lisa Ross
Oxford County Warden Marcus Ryan presented Gord and Lisa Ross with the 2024 Oxford Stewardship Award this morning to recognize their efforts toward land improvement and sustainability.
Gord and Lisa Ross have made tremendous efforts towards land stewardship at their South-West Oxford property. The Ross's have done several stewardship projects over the past 13 years and were honoured with this award thanks to recent efforts to plant over 2,500 trees to create windbreaks along the north and western boundaries. They also created a new woodlot in a 1.3-acre section of land on the corner of the property to link the two windbreaks and create a continuous wildlife path. The new woodlot is adjacent to a meadow and next to a neighbour’s woodlot to create a more extensive wildlife habitat.
Three short-listed candidates were finalists for the award, chosen from a pool of projects supported by the Clean Water Program. The program, funded by Oxford County and administered by the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority and the Grand River Conservation Authority, promotes water quality improvement and woodland and wetland conservation and enhancement. The finalists undertook various land improvements this year to protect the local environment.
Oxford County is honouring this year’s Oxford Stewardship Award recipient with a $500 gift certificate to purchase original artwork commissioned from an Oxford County artist of their choice OR an experience at a local destination featured through Tour Oxford. In addition to this prize, Lisa and Gord Ross have been added to the recognition wall at the Oxford County Administration Building, designed to honour all past and future recipients of the Oxford Stewardship Award.
The winner of the Oxford Stewardship Award is chosen by representatives of local stewardship organizations, with Marinda Gras, Soil & Crop Improvement Association, and Cher Sprague, Stewardship Oxford, leading the judging process. Find more information about the 2024 Oxford Land Stewardship Award candidates below.
· Debbra and Gord Eddy, East-Zorra Tavistock
See project profile.
· Joe and Susan Hampson, Norwich Township
See project profile.
· Gord and Lisa Ross, South-West Oxford
See project profile.
Background
· The Oxford Stewardship Award recipient is chosen by Stewardship Oxford and the Oxford Soil & Crop Improvement Association from the pool of projects that received financial and/or technical assistance through the County-supported Clean Water Program the previous year. The Clean Water Program, administered by the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority and the Grand River Conservation Authority, with direct funding contributions from the County, helps to fund and support the conservation and enhancement of natural heritage resources in Oxford County. In 2024, a total of 24 Clean Water Program projects were funded in Oxford County. This reflected over $232,600 in total project value and $121,900 in grants. Oxford County committed $70,000 to the program. Technical guidance for most of these projects was provided by the Conservation Authorities with a number of partners providing funding support.
· The Oxford Stewardship Award was established in 2009 to recognize County landowners who have made outstanding contributions to protecting our natural heritage, such as woodlands, wetlands, streams and meadows and builds on the legacy of the former Landsaver Award, which was awarded between 1982 and 2003. The current stewardship award acknowledges the vital role that all landowners can play in preserving and enhancing the County’s natural environment.