BOARD OF DIRECTORS

John joined the Land Trust Board in about 2008 after spending three years in New Zealand following his retirement from Trinity College School. At Trinity he taught mathematics, science and geography, and coached cross-country running and Nordic skiing.

His years from 1965 to 2002 at Trinity were broken up regularly by a return to the University of Toronto to complete a B.Sc. in biology, five months spent as a scuba-diving biological research assistant in the high arctic, a winter ski-bumming in the Kananaskis Valley in Alberta, a summer working as a cowboy on an Alberta foothills ranch, a year teaching in Whitehorse, a sabbatical spent studying mathematics and biology at the University of Guelph, and a year on exchange to Australia. While teaching, he also spent many summers in the Canadian arctic working for the National Museum of Natural History and the Canadian Wildlife Service.

In retirement, John is an active birder. He helps with local Christmas and summer bird counts, conducts marsh surveys for birds and amphibians, and surveys eight lakes by canoe each summer to collect data on Common Loon breeding success. He has also visited over 40 countries on birding trips. When not birding, his interests include cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, camping, badminton, electoral reform and keeping his firewood pile ready for next winter.

John’s wife, Dorothy, is a veterinarian with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Their son lived in Cusco, Peru for 10 years, and guides birding tours in many South American countries. Their daughter is currently teaching mathematics, science and physical education in Vancouver.

All of his travels and love of outdoor activities have convinced John that increasing human population will continue to put pressure on natural spaces. He believes that the only way to protect such spaces so that our great-grandchildren’s great-grandchildren will be able to enjoy them is through preservation by land trusts and similar organizations. He is therefore an avid supporter of the Nature Conservancy of Canada and is proud to serve on the Board of the Northumberland Land Trust. His responsibilities on the Board include regular e-mail communication with members, organizing the Wallace Birdathon, producing the quarterly newsletter, and acting as the Steward for the McEwen Reserve. He is grateful to all of our local supporters and encourages each of our members to persuade one more friend or family member to join us in our work to preserve significant natural, cultural and historical features of Northumberland County.

Robert Fishlock is a recently retired environmental lawyer and senior legal counsel with the Port Hope Area Initiative project, charged with the cleanup of historic low level radioactive waste in the communities of Port Hope and Port Granby, Ontario.

Up until 2012, he was a partner with the national law firm of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, where he practiced for over 27 years in all aspects of environmental law, particularly with respect to the regulation of industrial activities and the protection of air, water and land resources.

Robert and his wife Urszula reside in the historic community of Port Hope, where Robert was born and raised. He has been active in a number of local organizations that are committed to the protection of our environment, including the Green Party and Community Power Northumberland, a cooperative that has developed a number of solar energy projects in Northumberland County. He is also a member and former board member of Ontario Nature, a provincial land trust and advocacy group committed to the protection of natural habitats and the wild species that live there. On many a weekend he can be found exploring our nature reserves, the Ganaraska and Northumberland Forests, or spending time at his semi-remote Haliburton property.


George was born in the summer of ’48, the early days of the “Baby Boomers” as they came to be known. He survived a middle class existence in Scarborough and left at age 19 for university vowing never to return. He didn’t. At university, involvement in saving the world, ending war, peace symbols, long hair, a beard, folk concerts and the “summer of love” produced an education but not a degree. An interest in environmental issues has followed George all his life.

In 1973, George joined the work force, and retired as a Retail Business Manager in 2003 at age 55 from a 30 year career with Canada Post. The job took him from Kingston to Ottawa, Port Hope, Timmins and various Niagara Peninsula locations. At retirement, he managed 26 stores.

His wife Margaret and George married in 1976. They have one cat and no children. Following retirement, photography called George. This resulted in a certificate in Applied Photography and in Creative Photography from Mohawk College, Hamilton in 2005; a Photo Arts Certificate from Haliburton School of The Arts in 2010; and a Visual and Creative Arts Diploma from Haliburton School of The Arts (Fleming College) in 2012. George has been recognized by the province of Ontario for his volunteer service and by Scouts Canada with a Medal of Merit and a 45 year service pin. He is a past member of the board of Northumberland United Way, the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy and Past-president of St Andrews-Niagara Housing Development Corporation for seniors.

George was on the board of the Northumberland Land Trust from 2006 to 2010 and again since 2013. He is a Past-president of the Board. Currently George is responsible for fundraising and the NLT website.

• Grant Elliott was an educator for over 30 years (26 of which at CDCI East) and retired in 2017 from CDCI
• Grant taught General Science, Biology, and Environmental Science and was the Science Department Head.
• He was the staff advisor to the Environmental Club at the East, organizing 5 Environmental Youth Conferences and hosting an Environmental Film Festival through Planet in Focus.
• Grant has taken students twice to the Huntsman Marine Science Centre in New Brunswick for studies in Marine Biology and also to the Cloud Forest of Honduras, the remote forest of Guyana and the Peruvian Amazon for 2 week biological research with other students from around the world.

Things You May Not Know about Grant:

• Grant was 1 of only 2 teachers selected by the Canadian Space Agency and NASA to join American educators in Alaska for research connected with NASA’s Mars Phoenix Program.
• He is an avid photographer, hiker and kayaker and last but not least
• Grant is a proud Newfoundlander!

Richard Holland and his wife Sarah moved to Northumberland County in 2000, first to Cobourg and then four years later to the Northumberland hills, midway between Grafton and Baltimore.

Since retiring from the Ontario Public Service in 2016 Richard has served on various not-for-profit boards in financial roles, including (currently) the Northumberland Hills Hospital Auxiliary.

Richard first became aware of the Northumberland Land Trust in 2017 when his neighbours were considering donating part of their property to the Trust. That donation was completed in December 2019 and Richard and Sarah’s house and land now overlook the Bonebakker Nature Reserve.

Richard joined the Northumberland Land Trust’s board in November 2020, and he now serves the new board as Treasurer.


Freda Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Mississauga to Dutch immigrant parents and graduated with a natural science degree from Calvin College, in Grand Rapids Michigan, followed by a degree in Occupational Therapy from University of Toronto. She and her husband Rob moved to Northumberland County in 1992 where they brought up their 4 daughters. Freda has volunteered in many different organizations and on a number of different Boards including the Lone Pine Land Trust.


Robert Kennedy was born in Hamilton to parents who were Dutch immigrants to Canada in the early 1950’s. His love for nature came early in life during family hikes on the Bruce Trail and camping holidays. He graduated in 1981 from the University of Waterloo with a degree in civil engineering, married Freda and together raised four beautiful daughters. The family moved to Northumberland County in 1992. Rob along with his brother and cousin started up Peak Engineering & Construction Ltd which became a respected and successful company. The thee partners sold ‘Peak’ to their employees and retired from the business in 2014.

Rob has served on numerous Boards over the years, including his local church. After retirement, he decided to pursue his passion and love for nature and joined the Lone Pine Land Trust Board and eventually served as President. He represented the LPLT in its’ merger talks with NLT and is now serving as the President of the merged NLT. Rob and Freda are now empty nesters living on 300 forested acres north of Grafton which they hope to donate to NLT in the future.

Leslie has had a keen curiosity about the natural world since she was very young, and she still wants to learn everything about each creature she finds. She has built an extensive wildlife garden on her property to encourage critters of all kinds to come to her. Leslie is an avid birder and wildlife photographer. As a retired teacher, she still loves to ignite people’s curiosity about the amazing living things that share our earth. She aims to encourage people to get outside, look closely, and reconnect with nature. Currently Leslie is the property steward for the Lone Pine Marsh Braham Tract, and every time she goes there she finds something amazing. She believes deeply in the mission of the Northumberland Land Trust, and hopes to help preserve and protect many natural areas in Northumberland County for future generations .

Doug has been fortunate to turn his lifelong fascination with nature into an exciting and varied career involving research studies, biological inventories, guiding, consulting, and education. His work has involved extensive international travel, especially during his 20 years as a senior guide with North America’s top-ranked bird tour company, Field Guides Inc.

Doug has published extensively in newspapers, scientific, and popular journals, and currently authors the Weekly Bird Report for Presqu’ile area. He was a founding member of the Ontario Field Ornithologists and the Ontario Bird Records Committee and has served on the Board of several conservation organizations.