This is the web page for Heaman Tract, a property owned and permanently preserved by Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy (HTLTC).
A tract of land 5.5 acres in size, on West Corner Drive north of Ailsa Craig in North Middlesex, is preserved for future nature enjoyment. This is thanks to a generous donation to the Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy in 2018 by Janet Heaman in memory of Jack Heaman.
The Ausable River runs through this rolling plot of land. The river is home to aquatic species at risk. Heaman Tract provides recreation benefits such as fishing and canoeing and benefit local residents and tourists.
The property offers food, water, and shelter for wildlife. It has positive impact on water and soil as a vegetated, natural buffer to protect water quality in the river. The property provides much-needed forest cover in the area.
There are mature hardwood and conifer trees and younger trees as well.
Jack and Janet Heaman purchased the parcel in the mid-1960s as part of a farm to the east..
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Posted on June 6, 2019:
Heaman Tract, near Ailsa Craig, donated to land trust by Janet Heaman in memory of Jack Heaman
Heaman Tract is fourth property donated to land trust to be preserved
A tract of land more than five acres in size, north of Ailsa Craig, will be preserved for future nature enjoyment opportunities and water, soil, and habitat protection. This is thanks to a generous donation by Janet Heaman in memory of Jack Heaman. The tract has been donated to the Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy (HTLTC).
The Heaman Tract is on West Corner Drive in McGillivray Ward of North Middlesex.
The Ausable River runs through this rolling plot of land. The river is home to aquatic species at risk. Heaman Tract will provide recreation benefits such as fishing and canoeing and benefit local residents and tourists.
The property offers food, water, and shelter for wildlife. It has positive impact on water and soil as a vegetated, natural buffer to protect water in the river. The property provides much-needed forest cover in the area. There are mature hardwood and conifer trees there and younger trees as well.
Jack and Janet Heaman purchased the parcel in the mid-1960s as part of a farm to the east. A dedication ceremony for Heaman Tract was held at the property on June 3, 2019. Janet Heaman and all of her children, as well as other family members, attended. The land trust board of directors was represented at the ceremony by Chair Roger Lewington, Peter Twynstra, Don Farwell, Max Morden, and Philip Walden.
The riverside property was a place of memories for Janet’s and Jack’s children whether it was Larry meeting his future wife, Jan, at the bridge or the children looking at turtles.
“The kids used to like to come and sit and watch the river and fish off the bridge,” Janet recalled. It was also a special place for Jack. “It was Jack’s oasis down there,” Janet said.
John Lewis ‘Jack’ Heaman passed away in 2014 at the age of 79.
“It’s awesome this property is being dedicated to our Dad, Jack Heaman,” said Sandra (née Heaman) Vanos, one of Janet’s and Jack’s three children. She said it’s nice people will have a quiet place and “thinking spot” where they can go to find solace.
Larry Heaman, another of Janet’s and Jack’s children, shared what the property means to him. “When I was a teenager I used to come down here periodically just because it was a quiet, tranquil place and a nice place to sit and watch the river and collect your thoughts and watch the turtles and the muskrats,” he recalled. “It would be my hope that future generations could continue to have that experience.”
Jack Heaman maintained the tract of land almost like a park, Janet’s and Jack’s son Rick recalled. “Dad was proud of the property,” Rick said. “I’m proud that Mom has donated the property – she came up with the idea and we supported it. We thought it was a good idea once she thought of it. It seems like the right thing to do.
Peter Twynstra, Ailsa Craig resident a volunteer founding board member of the HTLTC, said he knew Jack a long time as a “fixture in the community” as Jack had worked for years at the County of Middlesex roads department. “Thank you, Janet, and the whole Heaman family, for your very kind gesture of considering the land trust (to entrust with this property),” Peter said. He invited ceremony guests to look around not only at the glorious sunshine of the ceremony day but also at the trees and beauty of an “absolutely wonderful” property. It is a natural space of great quality and importance to the whole community and for all who love nature, he said, and “I can tell you the Heaman family loves nature.”
Kate Monk, staff advisor to the land trust, said Heaman Tract is an important “piece of the puzzle” to protect the Ausable River and Lake Huron. “Everything along the river is important,” she said. “This is the Ausable River down here,” she said at the ceremony. The Ausable River “starts just outside of Staffa in Perth County, and it comes all the way down through Huron County and into Middlesex County, and from here down through Ailsa Craig it goes to Arkona, and then it makes its way up and enters Lake Huron at Port Franks.” Through this donation “we can protect this property for generations to come,” she said. “People will be able to come and enjoy it and walk through here,” Kate said.
The tract has many tree species and a lovely waterway for canoeing and fishing. Birds that visit include Red-winged Blackbirds, Blue Jays, Cardinals, and American Goldfinches. “They all fly through here,” said Janet. “I think Jack would be thrilled” that the property is preserved for the future, she said. Janet said it was “wonderful” to have her children with her at the ceremony. “You couldn’t ask for the day to be any better … and a sunny day on top of it,” she said.
Heaman Tract is the fourth property donated to the land trust and the one furthest to the south. HTLTC also owns and protects Woodburne Farm, south of Goderich; Bayfield River Flats at Bayfield; and Mayhew Tract near Holmesville.
The Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy was formed in 2011, by the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation, a registered Canadian charity. The land trust serves the area of the historic Huron Tract from the early days of settlement.
The HTLTC is a volunteer organization with a separate board of directors and is a member of the Ontario Land Trust Alliance. The Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy accepts donations and bequests of land and gives people in the Huron Tract area a way to make a positive difference by helping protect and restore land, water, and nature.
For more information on the Conservancy, please call 1-888-286-2610 or visit htltc.ca.