One of my duties as mayor is to be one of the York Region representatives on the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA).  I was on the LSRCA in the past as both a member and the Chair, so I was very familiar with the organization.  
The LSRCA was started in 1951 as the Upper Holland Valley Conservation Authority. 
As the member municipalities grew, the name was changed to reflect that growth, first to the South Lake Simcoe Conservation Authority in 1971 and then to the current name in the 1986 as again the membership around Lake Simcoe expanded.

The majority of its funding comes from municipalities, with some provincial and federal grants and revenue generated by the authority.  The money is spent on protection and restoration of the watershed, science and research, leadership and education outreach.

The mission of the LSRCA is to “work with our community to protect and restore the Lake Simcoe watershed by leading research, policy and action."

To do that, the LSRCA is involved in everything from education and outreach, conservation areas and parks, enforcement of watershed development guidelines, regulation investigations, flood forecasting, grants to assist landowners and research. 

In 2015 the LSRCA investigated a total of 263 complaints, issuing 128 violation notices.  A total of 13 convictions was obtained.

Through outreach and education programs 23,820 trees and shrubs were planted in 2015 and 3,330 students engaged in education at Scanlon Creek.

For more information on the activities of the LSRCA, check out its website www.lsrca.on.ca

Better yet, come out to the Halloween Tree Planting at Boston Pizza on Oct. 29 from 10 a.m. to noon, and help plant more than 250 trees.  Bring the whole family for pumpkin decorating and wear your Halloween costume for a chance to win a prize.

To reach the mayor, call 905-475-4305, ext 2215 or email mquirk@georgina.ca