2024 AGM Minutes

The Riverwood Conservancy Annual General Meeting Minutes Monday, April 15, 2024 | 7:00 pm Chappell House | 4300 Riverwood Park Lane, Mississauga

Participants: Current Members (34): Heather Shaw Peeter Poldre Robin Haley-Gillin Linda Morris Doug Richards Trishia Kluge Sara Wilbur-Collins Clement Mbulu Shirley Daniels Marc Johnson Joe Horneck Gillian Lien-Robinson Non-Members (9): Beth Jones Stephanie Keeler Rasheed Clarke

Brian Packham Elinor Laffey Dave Irwin Dean Sane Derek Stone Robert Paton Christina Woodward Lynn McFerran Peter Newsome Amy Tjen Jonathan Davis

Monica Jako Swaroop Dogra Tim Pickering Susan Richards Suzanne Roy Carolyn Sherk Vickie Micallef Nina Barabas Olive Hanna Imdad Junejo Francine Martin

Mirna Zaldivar Jodi Cabral Kerry Furneaux

Taya Kehler Erin Farrow Ivanca Naje

Proxy (1): David Leeder 1. Call to Order, Acknowledgement of the Land and Welcome Heather Shaw, Chair of the Board of Directors read the Land Acknowledgement and called the Annual General Meeting to order. Beth Jones was the Recording Secretary for the meeting.

2. Acceptance of the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on April 26, 2023 Motion: The minutes of the last Annual Meeting, held on April 26, 2023, were approved on a motion by Elinor Laffey and seconded by Shirley Daniels.

3. Report of the Chair Heather Shaw’s report highlighted how 2023 marked the launch of a new three-year Strategic Plan for The Riverwood Conservancy. Guided by the goals and priorities outlined in that

plan, we continued to focus throughout the year on work important to The Riverwood Conservancy’s mission, including educating people about nature, and preserving Riverwood’s beauty. We also launched efforts to recruit a new TRC Youth Council, through which we look forward to engaging more young people in high school and post-secondary.

Work was also undertaken to bring our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws into compliance with the new Ontario Not-for-profit Corporations Act, and to diversify our revenue streams by bringing in more revenue from sponsorships, donations and fees. Heather expressed thanks to The Riverwood Conservancy’s staff, volunteers, donors and sponsors. She also thanked the City of Mississauga for their ongoing support, including Ward 6 Councillor Joe Horneck and all the City Councillors. Thank you all!

4. Report of the Treasurer and Appointment of Auditors Tim Pickering reviewed the 2023 audited financial statements that were distributed prior to the meeting. He noted that the organization ran an operating deficit of $93K in 2023, and that we had about $517K in cash at the end of December 2023, most of which is in the operating reserve, and which represents 40 to 40% of our annual expenses. We are still in a relatively good financial position going in to 2024.

Motion: It was moved by Elinor Laffey, seconded by Peeter Poldre, and carried, that the Treasurer’s Report be accepted as presented.

Motion: It was moved by Peter Newsome, seconded by Swaroop Dogra and carried that the firm of Glenn Graydon Wright be appointed auditors for 2024.

5. Articles of Incorporation Updates Jonathan Davis spoke to the package of recommended changes to the Objects and By-Law that were distributed with the meeting materials. In his comments, he highlighted that the implementation of the new Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA) requires us to submit updates to CRA and then to the Ontario Business Registry prior to the ONCA deadline in October. He also noted that TRC secured advice from legal counsel with regards to these updates, and that legal advice provides the foundation for the recommended changes.

Current Objects (in place since 1990): 1) To promote and assist in the provision of a major Public Garden in Mississauga, Ontario, on the former Chappell – MacEwan – Bird – Zaichuk properties.

2) To provide horticultural expertise for the planning of public gardens in the City of Mississauga, Ontario.

3) To encourage and foster an understanding, awareness, and appreciation of horticulture.

4) To provide public displays and conduct competitions, educational seminars, conferences, and public forums about the flora and fauna of Peel Region.

Proposed additional objects to be added to the list above: 5) To advance the public's knowledge and understanding of Riverwood Park by providing educational programs about the environmental features of the Park and its context within the City of Mississauga and the Credit River watershed.

6) To protect the environment for the benefit of the public by stewarding the ecosystems and biodiversity of Riverwood Park on a long-term basis.

7) To promote public participation through volunteering opportunities for individuals and groups in Mississauga and the Credit River watershed.

8) To increase knowledge of the outdoors and appreciation of the impacts of climate change by offering environmental education, conservation, and stewardship programs to diverse audiences.

9) To provide supplementary expertise and/or capacity to other natural areas and gardens in the City of Mississauga.

Member Question – Why do the updates get submitted to CRA prior to the Ontario Business Registry?

Answer from Sara Wilbur Collins – This is has to do with the updated objects of incorporation. Because they also serve as our Charitable Objects, CRA needs to confirm they are describing activities that are appropriate for an organization with charitable status. Once that approval is received the full package can go to the Ontario Business Registry Member Question – Within these updates, have you addressed diversity, equity and inclusion?

Answer from Sara Wilbur Collins – According to our legal counsel, the Objects of Incorporation should be a very concise description of “what” we do. Concerns about diversity, equity and inclusion are dealt with in depth in the Strategic Plan, which is more about the how of what we do.

Motion: It was moved by Dean Sane, seconded by Marc Johnson and carried that the membership of The Riverwood Conservancy approve the recommended updated Objects and By-Law amendments in order to bring TRC’s Articles of Incorporation into compliance with the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA) 6. Report of the Executive Director Sara Wilbur-Collins reported on the highlights of a busy year at The Riverwood Conservancy, and noted that a key factor that aligned our work was the launch of the new Strategic Plan in the spring. Throughout the year, we continued to advance the goals and objectives outlined in that plan. Innovations included the “Choose Your Own Adventure” Summer Day Camp that engaged 50 kids; a Nature for Newcomer program delivered in collaboration with the Newcomers Centre of Peel; Gardening Naturally programming for elementary school classes;

and a Trail Ambassador program that engaged 1300 park visitors. We felt very honoured when the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation provided their endorsement of land-based education at Riverwood, and when the City renewed their funding for another three years. On a sober note, for the first time ever, poor air quality during wildfire season created a challenge for the delivery of our outdoor programs. To ensure we can continue to advance our mission, we invested in our fundraising program, and in 2023 hosted our first-ever Ambassadors Breakfast for those who are willing to open doors for us in the corporate sector. Many thanks to the City’s staff and Council members, to our partner organization on the site Visual Arts Mississauga, to our funders and individual donors, and to our growing group of major donors and sponsors.

7. Report of the Nominations Committee: Carolyn Sherk, chair of the Nominations Committee, presented the report of the Nominating Committee and welcomed new members Peeter Poldre, Imdad Hussain Junejo, and Monica Jaco as a candidates for election to the Board of Directors.

Motion: It was moved by Marc Johnson and seconded by Christina Woodward that Peter Poldre, Imdad Hussein Junejo, and Monica Jaco be elected as Directors of TRC as of this meeting. The motion was carried.

Motion: It was moved by Elinor Laffey and seconded by Swaroop Dogra that the number of directors on the board of directors be set at thirteen (13) members for the 2024-2025 year.

The motion was carried.

8. Appreciation of Retiring Volunteers Heather Shaw expressed The Riverwood Conservancy’s sincere thanks to two longstanding and outgoing board members, Carolyn Sherk and Marc Johnson, for all of their many contributions to the organization.

Taya Kehler, Gardens Coordinator, expressed the organization’s and the Garden’s Committee gratitude to founding volunteer Gary Watson close to 40 years of volunteering, a director, committee member, and finally member of the gardens committee.

9. Staff Years of Service Recognition Heather Shaw noted that we have started a new tradition this year of recognizing staff for their years of service to the organization. Many thanks go out to the following: In recognition of five or more years of service: • Stephanie Keeler (five years) • Rasheed Clarke (five years) • Kerry Furneaux (seven years) • Beth Jones (nine years)

In recognition of ten or more years of service: • Erin Farrow (eleven years) • Brian Packham (thirteen years) 10. Update on the MacEwan Pond Project Derek Stone, Director of Programs, shared an update about the newly released final plans for the MacEwan Pond restoration project. He noted that the scope for the restoration has been adjusted significantly from earlier plans. The new plan focuses primarily on improvements in accessibility by creating new boardwalks, benches and interpretive signage, and by paving pathways that currently have soft surfaces. The original plan had also aimed to increase the expanse of open water in the pond by means of mechanical dredging to remove accumulated biomass from invasive phragmites grasses. However, hydrogeological studies conducted over the last two years indicated that such dredging could cause more harm than good.

Instead, the new plan will raise the channel that allows overflow to drain out, a measure which may raise water levels by up to ten centimeters. Construction is expected to be complete by May 2025.

Member Question – Could the paving of the trail west of MacEwan Pond negatively affect wildlife and water quality in Ron’s Pond? (a small wetland adjacent to MacEwan Pond) Answer from Derek Stone – Materials for the paving work have been hand-picked to avoid conflicts with the ecosystem as much as possible. For example, the paving materials were changed to protect a nearby Butternut Tree.

11. New Business None 12. Members’ Questions None 13. Adjournment of the Meeting Motion: At 8:30 PM it was moved by Carolyn Sherk, seconded by Tim Pickering, and carried that the AGM be adjourned.