The Georgian Bay Land Trust is welcoming a new Executive Director to lead the conservation organization through its next chapter. Andrew Young is a skilled non-profit leader with a lifelong passion for the outdoors, and decades of experience camping, canoeing, and cottaging along the eastern shore of Georgian Bay.
Young joins the Land Trust after five years as Executive Director of Outward Bound Canada, a charity that focuses on empowering youth through outdoor adventure. Previously, he served as a Vice President of Diabetes Canada, and in earlier roles including advocacy work for at-risk communities, outdoor education, and camping programs for youth with complex mental and physical health challenges.
“We are excited to have Andrew joining the organization at this juncture,” says Cathy Bongard, Board Chair of the Georgian Bay Land Trust. “His energy and leadership arrive at the perfect moment as we continue to build on our recent growth in conservation lands and develop new approaches to conservation in eastern Georgian Bay.”
The Georgian Bay Land Trust is a registered charity dedicated to protecting wilderness lands along eastern Georgian Bay and the North Channel, through strategic conservation planning, land securement, stewardship, research, and education. The Land Trust currently protects 79 ecologically significant properties stretching from Port Severn to the North Channel, totaling over 9,800 acres, and provides protection for an additional 32,900 acres through the Georgian Bay Corridor Project.
Young takes over from outgoing Executive Director Bill Lougheed, who led the Georgian Bay Land Trust for the past eleven years. During this time, the Land Trust established 42 new conservation reserves, began conducting in-house research on species at risk, and launched the Georgian Bay Corridor Project which aims to establish a connected habitat corridor along much of eastern Georgian Bay.
“Georgian Bay has been a significant part of our family’s life,” says Young. “Our children have grown up exploring its southern beaches and canoeing along the eastern shore. It’s a magical place with a unique opportunity to be preserved for future generations. The work done so far is truly inspiring, demonstrating what a community can achieve in protecting critical wildlife habitat and making a meaningful impact on halting the loss of biodiversity.”