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Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Collavino Conservation Area officially opened to public
A ribbon cutting was held last Thursday to celebrate the opening of the new Collavino Conservation Area. It is located on North Side Road between Front Road North and Concession 2 North.
By Ron Giofu A dream over 20 years in the making came to fruition last Thursday morning. The Collavino Conservation Area officially opened to the public May 21, with it being the idea of Loris Collavino and his family. The Collavino family owned the land with Loris Collavino stating that he fell in love with the idea of creating a public natural area when walking around the site as far back as 2005. “When I first went around the wetland, I fell in love with it,” he said. “I knew it should be shared with the public. I’m glad this day has come.” The Collavino Conservation Area is located on North Side Road, just east of Front Road North (County Road 20) in Amherstburg. The family donated the land to the Essex Region Conservation Authority
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(ERCA) at a ceremony in 2022. A year later, Collavino donated $100,000 to the Essex Region Conservation Foundation to help transform the land into a conservation area and create public amenities at the site. As part of the ceremony last Thursday morning, Collavino made an additional $50,000 donation. “I’m very, very pleased with the work they have done,” he said. “We are grateful that this donated land will be held in perpetuity to promote wetland conservation, education and public use.” Collavino said “it makes sense that it should be open to the public” so that everyone can learn more about nature and experience it. He said it sets kids on a path to appreciate nature, with the first field trip to the site also being last Thursday morning as students from Holy Cross Catholic Elementary School
Loris Collavino (centre) speaks at the grand opening after presenting $50,000 to the Essex Region Conservation Foundation. At left is ERCA CAO Tim Byrne while ERCA chair Molly Allaire is at right.
in LaSalle came by for a tour. Molly Allaire, chair of ERCA’s board of directors and an Amherstburg town councillor, said ERCA is very thankful to the Collavino family for their philanthropy. “Celebrating the opening of Collavino Conservation Area on the eve of the United Nations International Day for Biological Diversity highlights the importance this place as habitat for vulnerable species and where communities can connect with, appreciate, and protect the natural world,” said Allaire. “It will be stewarded with the utmost care to ensure that it remains a treasured destination for our children, and our children’s children, to enjoy forever.” Allaire outlined the Collavino family’s background in business in the Windsor-Essex County region, dating back to 1954 under brothers Rigo and
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Mario. By the mid-1970s, it was an international construction company and in 1975, the family started a precast concrete manufacturing company called Prestressed Systems Inc. They moved to River Canard in 1983 and enjoyed the surrounding environment and wanted to share it with others, with that being part of their philanthropic endeavors. For Allaire, it also had a personal connection. She noted her family has farmed Collavino-owned land for over 25 years. “This means so much to me,” she said. Terry Patterson, chair of the Essex Region Conservation Foundation, also thanked the family and believed the wetland and the donation of lands met all the priorities the foundation supports.
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