The Blue Mountain Watershed Trust Foundation (Watershed Trust) has said farewell to one of its most active and passionate members.
Donald J. Kerr died two weeks ago, and he will be greatly missed by his community and fellow members of the watershed trust.
“Don was a real gentleman. He was an active person and an active member of the foundation,” said Norm Wingrove, acting president and secretary-treasurer of the watershed trust. “He was dedicated to our community and really concerned about the effects of climate change on our environment and biodiversity.”
Well into his 80s, Kerr was an active and vocal member of the Watershed Trust’s Watershed Action Group (WAG), which tackles conservation-themed issues in Collingwood and the Town of The Blue Mountains. Kerr was often the spokesperson for the WAG at hearings about local developments and other important matters.
In 2016, Kerr was nominated as Grassroots Hero by On the Bay Magazine for his Silver Creek Vision Project, a strategy to transfer as much of Georgian Bay’s most prominent wetland as possible out of private hands. Kerr received the Order of Collingwood for his tireless dedication to the cause.
“Our goal at the trust is to protect our natural environment. We have a wonderful area up here which is attracting a lot of people to the area, so we have to make sure the development that is happening is not going to ruin what we treasure most,” said Wingrove.
“Don did a lot to improve the life of people in Collingwood. He will be forever remembered and greatly missed,” Wingrove continued.
Kerr grew up on a farm in Oxford County near Ingersoll, Ontario. He moved to Collingwood in 1988 and joined the Blue Mountain Watershed Trust Foundation in 2004, becoming a director and a key member of the Watershed Action Group Committee.
Kerr passed away peacefully on Monday, Aug. 31 following a period of convalescence after a fall, a press release said.
