Cruickson is history!

This week a new name was given to a property that has played a significant role in the lives of many people in our community – for thousands of years! Formerly known as Cruickston Charitable Research Reserve, located at the confluence of the Grand and Speed Rivers, this property has been home to aboriginal peoples, to Victorian settlers and always to myriad species of plants and animals, many now rare to our Province and Nation.

Early archaeology discoveries tell us that this property has a history going back more than 9,000 years. Yet, the word Cruickston is reflective only of a particular period in time and of the property’s connection with European History: the name was chosen by William Ashton who, purchased about 230 acres of land along the Galt-Blair Road and named it after the ship, the Cruickston Castle, which brought him from England. In 1853 Ashton began to build a house on his property but misjudged the economy and, was forced to sell before its completion. Eventually, Matthew Wilks Keefer became the new owner and developed a vision for the property, a vision which has inspired the charity’s founders – and many community supporters, including business leaders, scientific and technical experts and those with a conservationist and environmentalist vision to preserve and protect much of the lands Keefer once owned.

Today, over 900 acres are held in perpetuity by the current charitable organization, ready to embark on a new era. These 900 acres are distinct from the original house and reflective of the aboriginal history. It remains a Charitable Research Reserve but it needs a new identity to highlight its own characteristics for this next phase of its eventful history. After a lengthy process, involving many opinions and the work of a qualified expert in this area, a new identify plan has been developed. Look for our new name – rare – throughout the community as we embark on a new effort to develop research and education programs and involve the public in every aspect of our work.

And, of course, we need your help. This change comes at a time when the property is moving to the next stage of its history, a stage that makes it truly charitable and deserving of broad public support, including the local community, the government and international organizations. The bold, new name – rare – signifies a new era within the charitable organization and at the property that the charity has been entrusted to protect, on behalf of you and every other citizen. The work of the early founders has given us all an opportunity to enjoy the property and, at the same time, to ensure that it can fulfill its role as a model for the protection of biodiversity.

rare is a word that expresses and reinforces the organization’s vision: more than 900 acres of land set aside for passive leisure, environmental restoration and preservation – all undertaken in the context of pure, scientific research. Our aim is to assist researchers by making the property available in answering the next set of pressing questions. “What can we learn about our interaction with our environment that will help us enhance our lives and our planet, rather than destroy it? What answers do we need?” And perhaps more importantly, “What questions have we not even learned to ask?”

Now rare is ready to develop the educational programs and expand the partnerships that will ensure its role in a growing network of organizations and community efforts that are creating a new economy, a new way of life and a new way of thinking. As Dr. Val O’Donovan, founder of Com Dev, puts it:

“Waterloo Region will be the envy of North America, combining fast-paced urban growth, healthy job climate and easy access to the unspoiled, natural environment. For many people, this is the combination that drew them to the area and will keep them here.”

We need you! With your continued support and help, rare, its educational programs and its role as a research facility known around the world, will be a tribute to our entire community, making it a more desirable place to live and work.

» Click here to view rare, the movie «