This is the story of a group of people, brought together by their mutual love for Caledon and the Headwaters.

For David, it was a love affair with the Caledon countryside that began in 1987.
For Chris, it was an adolescent crush in1971 that grew into a lifelong commitment.
For Rishi, it was a desire to expose his children to nature.
Ashley and her family wanted a life in wide open spaces and a place to try their hand at farming.
For Anthony, having grown up in BC, it was a reconnection to the natural landscape.

For all of us, the pull to Caledon is deep and real. We experience every day what visitors to the area tell us: how beautiful it is, how relaxing it feels to breathe in the fresh air, watch the birds, gaze at the lush forests, walk the hiking trails and visit the quaint hamlets and villages. 

The jewel at the heart of this love affair, is the Missinnihe River. Now called the Credit, this sacred watershed was central to trade and travel by the Indigenous peoples who for millennia inhabited the large territory in what is now Southern Ontario. The Credit River is a living breathing oasis feeding lakes, rivers and streams while nourishing forests, farms and wetlands. This environmentally sensitive area attracts thousands of tourists, hikers, anglers and nature lovers. During COVID, the number of visitors to Forks of the Credit Provincial Park increased dramatically
as people longed for time in green spaces.

These same glaciers also deposited valuable sand and gravel in the Caledon area, the aggregate used to make highways and concrete structures. Tragically, throughout Caledon, this precious, non-renewable resource has been aggressively strip-mined over many decades.
Hidden from view behind berms are the moonscape-like scars created by the gravel mines. We live with the uneasy reality that gravel pits were seen to be Caledon’s contribution to progress.

In 2019, we were shocked when they learned of the plan by a Brazilian conglomerate, Votorantim Cimentos/CBM St Marys, to locate a mega blasting quarry on 800 acres of prime agricultural land adjacent to the Credit River. Differing from gravel pits, this was a plan to use explosives
to blast 80 feet below the water table and release the rising water into the river. Disbelief was soon replaced by resolve when David Sylvester and his neighbours created the Forks of the Credit Preservation Group to protect the place we all deeply love. We sounded the alarm and were joined by hundreds of others with the same concerns.

This is a classic Love Story.
A foreign International mining company pitted against the efforts of a passionate group of local citizens holding yard sales, bake sales and receiving donations to raise funds.

We are committed to do whatever it takes to stop this environmental assault from being committed on our beloved Caledon and the Credit River.

Explore how you can be a part of protecting this for generations to come.
Click here to Get Involved Here!