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Wilmot Council Votes Unanimously to Approve Schneider’s Woods Donation.

WSchneider Lands donated to raree are grateful to Wilmot Township Council for unanimously accepting staff’s recommendation to approve the Zoning and Official Plan Amendment applications which is the first step to allow the donation of Schneider’s Woods to move forward.

We are humbled by the support this donation has received from the community and honoured by the trust the Schneider Family has put in us to steward these lands for the benefit of all — now and forever. Wilmot Township Council’s unanimous vote of support moves our relationship forward as partners in conservation for the sustainable stewardship of these treasured lands. We are excited to work with the community, Wilmot Township, and the City of Waterloo to ensure these lands remain healthy and beneficial to local residents. Schneider’s Woods is a haven for nature, a source of clean air and water and critical to the region’s sustainability. We look forward to these lands continuing to be available for casual public access for passive recreation, enhancing the health and well-being of everyone in the community. 

We look forward to working with Wilmot Township Council and the local community to address the remaining details. We feel that the road safety measures proposed before this meeting are a good start for discussion and feedback from the community most affected by these changes. While we think that some proposed improvements to roadside parking mentioned in the staff report are cost prohibitive, we will gladly work with Council and the community on fundraising strategies that can contribute to finding the best solution that serves community needs.  

We thank the community again for speaking out on behalf of a legacy that will benefit this community for generations to come. 

–rare Charitable Research Reserve

Further Resources

The planning and severance application was first submitted almost a year ago, in March 2023. The fly in the ointment remains the township’s demand for an additional parking lot to be created. The Schneider family has been clear that they don’t want any of the conservation lands to be used for this purpose, nor would any such lot even likely to be permitted by the GRCA due to the ecologically sensitive nature of the lands. There is existing legal roadside parking that property visitors currently use, and there is no proposed change in usage of the property, merely a change in ownership from one entity to another – therefore, there are no legal requirements for additional infrastructure.