We have just 38 days left in our campaign to secure project funds for Middle Earth! Over the last 6 weeks we have secured $40,000 in community donations (WOW) and have only $30,000 left to go.
These community donated funds, combined with revenues from the upcoming Spring Trivia Event, Earth Week, and The Cumby trail race take us to the FINISH LINE for this 2.1 million dollar project.
Middle Earth is a 216 acre parcel of forest, creeks and wetlands to the east of the existing Cumberland Forest lands and it is our largest purchase to date. It continues the vision of an interconnected corridor of protected forest lands on the south flank of the Village of Cumberland that supports habitat, ecosystem and watershed health and low impact recreational access for our community.
Together we are helping this forest grow old! Donate TODAY!
*Middle Earth is the light orange lands on this map
Background: In the spring of 2025, the CCFS launched a new purchase project to the east of the existing Cumberland Community Forest called Middle Earth, a 261 acre forest in the Trent River Watershed, K’omoks Territory.
Wetlands, riparian corridors, rocky bluffs and multi-use trails wind through this forested landscape. This area is home to trails including Round Out, Outfox, Sapsucker, Rapture Genesis, and Resurrection. All of this is private timber land.
This land connects to the existing Cumberland Community Forest protected lands and activates an exciting dream of extending these protected lands down a beautiful wetland corridor toward the salmon-bearing Trent River and out to the Salish Sea. This land also connects to private forest lands that are part of the Cumberland Trail Network access agreement areas.
In addition to areas of high ecological value, and amazing non motorized multi-use trails, Middle Earth also includes forest lands targeted for wildfire mitigation actions, areas for forest conversion pilots (for biodiversity, cultural values, and climate resilience).
This project is an exciting step in our work in landscape scale conservation, and in new ways of looking at conservation through a collaborative, integrated land management lens that brings
together community and ecosystem values. We are also excited about new opportunities for collaboration with United Riders of Cumberland and the Village of Cumberland.
The CCFS have been engaged in land protection in the Puntledge / Pentlatch Watershed work since 2000 with 5 successful purchases to date the latest being the purchase of the Lower Perseverance Creek corridor in 2023. These lands have all been purchased from private timber companies, to remove them from the industrial forest base, restore them to the community as parkland enjoyed by residents and visitors alike
Our goals are consistent – to remove these lands from the industrial forestry base and bring them into local community ownership, to restore ecosystems, and to work collaboratively with our community and rights holders on sustainable, integrated, management plans – with future generations in our hearts and minds. We are grateful for a willing seller in Manulife Investment Management who continue to support our efforts to create this legacy for our community.
Our community has been incredible in stepping up to once again make conservation history on Vancouver Island. If you have been considering making a charitable donation to the CCFS in 2026, now is the time to do it! Donate HERE today!