Assessing the Trust’s property portfolio

Over the past few years, the Trust has completed a detailed assessment of all of the 478 cultural and natural heritage properties owned by the Trust or protected by heritage conservation easements at that time. These evaluations considered several factors, including the Trust’s acquisition criteria, typology, age, location and reason for acquisition. The process has provided great insight into the diversity of the Trust’s holdings to ensure appropriate representation and a holistic view of Ontario’s heritage. It also helped us to understand the portfolio’s strengths and to identify gaps.

A multidisciplinary team of Trust staff reviewed the owned and easement sites and analyzed them based on factors such as property location, history, archaeology, site typology, cultural association(s), period/era(s), ecological land classification and species at risk. They reviewed Statements of Significance, baseline data reports, monitoring reports and stewardship plans, revisited Trust policies and federal and provincial standards and guidelines, made additional site visits, and consulted with partners and stakeholders. Then they combined the two sets of results to understand the portfolio.