Sunset Community Foundation Invests in Environmental Future of Lake Huron Region
When Sunset Community Foundation awards grants, it isn't just writing checks — it's building something that lasts. That's the philosophy behind the Grand Bend, Ontario-based foundation, which recently dispersed seven grants totaling $46,835 to support environmental projects across the communities it serves on the eastern shore of Lake Huron.
"Everything that we do as a community foundation is for good now, and forever," said Lisa Reaume, Executive Director of Sunset Community Foundation. "That's what environmental programs are about. The investments we make today will benefit this lake and these communities for generations to come."
The grants, awarded through Sunset Community Foundation’s fall Grand Bend group of funds, support a range of projects that align closely with Lake Huron Forever's goals of protecting water quality and building healthy, resilient communities on both sides of the lake. Reaume, a champion for both the foundation and the Lake Huron Forever initiative, sees the grant program as one piece of a larger effort to elevate environmental work in the region.
"Community foundations connect the dots between scientists and the general public," she said. "We want to elevate the environmental work happening in our communities and help it grow."
Among the recipients is the Lake Huron Coastal Centre, which is launching a Microplastic Reduction and Education Program that will install storm drain filters in targeted locations in Lambton Shores to capture plastic fragments, cigarette butts and industrial plastic pellets before they enter Lake Huron through stormwater systems.
LHCC volunteers gather for a beach clean-up on Goderich's Lake Huron shoreline.
"As a small charity, support like this makes it possible to move innovative ideas into action," said Alyssa Bourassa, Executive Director of Lake Huron Coastal Centre. "By capturing microplastics at their source, we can reduce the amount of pollution entering the lake that provides drinking water for thousands of people."
Also receiving a grant is the Lakeshore Eco-Network, whose Tree People project aims to plant 14,000 trees, one for every resident, on public land in Lambton Shores over the next four years.
Lakeshore Eco-Network volunteers take part in a ceremonial tree planting at their Commemorative Woods, helping grow a lasting legacy for the community.
"Perhaps more important than the funding itself, the grant gave the project legitimacy," said Pat Morden, co-founder of Lakeshore Eco-Network. "Knowing that a group of citizen leaders supported our vision meant a great deal."
The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority received funding to support two youth-focused programs at Warner Preserve near Grand Bend. The first brings students from Grand Bend Public School to the preserve for a hands-on tree planting, a program now in its fourth year. The second supports Oaks and Acorns, an outdoor preschool program for children ages 18 months to four years, where caregivers and little ones spend several hours outside together each week over the course of four to six weeks.
"Fostering a relationship with the outdoors and learning about the connection and impact we have on the environment is instrumental to ensuring sustainability in our future," said Cassie Greidanus, Conservation Education Supervisor at Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority.
Beyond grant-making, Reaume sees Sunset Community Foundation's role in Lake Huron Forever as one of convening and connecting — bringing together organizations doing similar work and fostering collaboration across the region.
"There are so many people and organizations doing important work across this region," she said. "Our job is to help connect them and to raise the community up together."
Organizations interested in future grant opportunities through Sunset Community Foundation can learn more at sunsetcommunityfoundation.ca/grants/.