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RBC Foundation donating $500,000 to upgrade Milton’s Crawford Lake

Milton, Ontario, Canada / FM101 Milton Now
Cameron Wilkinson
Sep 4, 2026 | 10:10 AM
RBC Foundation donating $500,000 to upgrade Milton's Crawford Lake

RBC and CH staff gather in the Crawford Lake Conservation Area longhouse. From left to right: Leeanne Doxtator, Indigenous Education Coordinator, CH; Winston Young, Chief Financial Officer, CH; Diana Huson, Head of Corporate Affairs, CH; Chandra Sharma, President and Chief Executive Officer, CH; Rick Atherton, Regional Vice President Halton South, RBC; Roland Lightbourn, Associate – Marketing, Citizenship & Communications, RBC; Garner Beckett, Executive Director, Foundation, CH; Joron Juranic, Regional Director Marketing and Social Impact, RBC; Craig Machan, Director Parks and Operations, CH; Adrienne Lo, Director, Regional Environmental Impact, RBC; Kait Creighton, Regional Manager Environmental Impact, Ontario, RBC; Sarah Macdonald, Development Officer, CH; and Imran Javer, Funding and Grants Project Coordinator, CH.



Conservation Halton Foundation has received a $500,000 donation from the RBC Foundation to support upgrades at the Crawford Lake Interpretive and Education Centre in Milton.

The funding comes through the RBC Foundation Community Spaces Grant and will support a retrofit intended to make the facility more energy-efficient, climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable while enhancing visitor experience, accessibility, cultural heritage preservation and environmental education opportunities.

Located within Crawford Lake Conservation Area, which is part of the UNESCO Niagara Escarpment World Biosphere Reserve, the centre welcomes more than 100,000 visitors each year. The conservation area is home to the internationally recognized meromictic Crawford Lake and a reconstructed 15th-century Longhouse Village.

Planned upgrades include improvements to the building envelope, including insulation, windows and doors, optimized heat pump systems, LED lighting, smart climate controls and improved ventilation. The project is expected to significantly reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions while strengthening the facility’s long-term climate resilience.

Accessibility improvements will include fully accessible pathways and entrances, along with gender-neutral washrooms.

The project will also include a new climate-controlled storage facility to house a portion of Crawford Lake’s collection of approximately 10,000 Indigenous artifacts. The facility is intended to help preserve the culturally significant items while supporting interpretation of the site’s Indigenous heritage.

“This donation from RBC Foundation is a significant step toward creating a low carbon, climate resilient community space that will serve our visitors for many years,” says Chandra Sharma, President & CEO of Conservation Halton. “The retrofit supports the implementation of Conservation Halton’s decarbonization plan, enhances access to nature, promotes environmental education, and highlights the rich cultural heritage that makes Crawford Lake such a special destination.”

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