Conservation Halton invests in future leaders

While in high school, Devan Shimada volunteered part-time at Conservation Halton as a snow school apprentice at its Glen Eden ski hill during the holiday and March break camps. He progressed to a paid gig as a snow school instructor, a job he held throughout high school, and continued working with the conservation authority part-time while in university.

Seventeen years later, Shimada is the coordinator of recreation programs at Conservation Halton, a role in which he supervises more than 325 seasonal staff and volunteers annually.

Shimada attributes his long tenure to a supportive workplace culture that has given him the opportunity to grow professionally while collaborating with like-minded people.

“You feel like it’s not just a job – the people are all looking to create the same success for the parks and the programs,” Shimada says of the organization, which operates eight parks in Southern Ontario and offers a diverse range of programs and events. “You get to work with passionate, friendly people who want to collaborate and hear your ideas.”

Shimada’s career trajectory reflects Conservation Halton’s emphasis on nurturing young talent and promoting career growth. Each year, it hires hundreds of summer and seasonal students, many of whom go on to become full-time, long-term employees.

“An important responsibility for a conservation organization like ours is training and mentoring the environmental leaders of tomorrow,” says president and CEO Chandra Sharma, who has 25 years of experience working for conservation authorities. “We do this through our parks and restoration and other watershed programs, aiding local schools and universities in bringing young students to expose them to the work of a conservation authority.”

Internally, Conservation Halton cultivates talent through an emerging innovation leaders program offered in partnership with the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University. Shimada credits this program with exposing him to high-level business concepts while enabling him to team up with a wide cross-section of people from the organization.

“It provides a different lens on how we do things, and there’s a lot of interdepartmental learning that goes on,” he says, adding that a benefit of the program is that it takes place during work hours.

This program builds on a workplace culture that Sharma says values fearlessness and openness, qualities she embraces. She speaks proudly of Conservation Halton’s innovation hub, which supports staff in bringing new ideas to the organization, cultivating a “growth mindset” among employees.

“We want to empower employees to learn about and pursue technology-focused solutions across the organization,” she says.

The Emerging Leaders program is one way Conservation Halton supports employees both professionally and personally. The organization’s mission to connect people with nature is expressed through unique benefits that extend to employees’ immediate families too.

These include complimentary season passes to Glen Eden ski resort and a free annual Conservation Ontario parks membership that includes access to all conservation authority parks across Ontario.

Conservation Halton actively promotes physical and mental wellness through benefits such as free premium access to the Calm mental health app, a wellness fair, free yoga and meditation sessions, and a recently launched mental-health hub.

There’s also an emphasis on strengthening relationships through fun experiences like staff summer barbecues and free access to the Christmas Town and Spooktacular experiences at Mountsberg Conservation Area, which feature holiday-themed activities.

“All these things create a positive ecosystem where staff feel they can thrive and be motivated to do a good job, day in and day out,” says Sharma.

Shimada also points to an intangible perk of working at Conservation Halton.

“You get to work with people who are interested in the same things,” he says, adding that this leads to lifelong, meaningful friendships. “You make friends here that exist outside of the job.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Hamilton-Niagara’s Top Employers winners, published January 16, 2025 in The Hamilton Spectator. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.

At Conservation Halton, sustainability is a way of life

Conservation Halton offers such a wide range of environmental wellness programs in its southern Ontario region that Kim Barrett, the organization’s senior specialist, research and sustainability, says it’s hard to pick a favourite.

“That’s like asking me to name my favourite child,” she says with a laugh.

The Pass It On program, however, is one she’s especially enthusiastic about. Offered in partnership with local libraries, it enables community members to “check out” a Conservation Halton park pass at their library, just like they would check out a book.

“We have 400 passes available at libraries for community members to sign out so that they can access our parks at no charge,” says Barrett.

It’s a creative way of fulfilling Burlington, Ont.-based Conservation Halton’s mandate to provide opportunities for people to connect with nature at one of the authority’s eight parks in the region between Toronto and Hamilton. This mandate applies to staff too: employees and their immediate families receive a free annual membership that allows them to visit all conservation authority parks across Ontario.

“There’s a lot of research about the benefits of nature for mental health and physical health,” says Barrett.

Conservation Halton preserves, manages and enhances the environmental health of the watershed it oversees, and staff is encouraged to visit it first-hand. “Seeing what’s happening out on the landscape is good for our folks who are involved in watershed management,” says Barrett.

The conservation authority protects 10,600 acres of green space, oversees 842 water monitoring sites and monitors 39 invasive species. In 2023, Conservation Halton completed 141 restoration projects, restored 8.5 kilometres of stream and planted 130,385 trees and shrubs. In total, the conservation authority has planted more than four million trees over the past 60 years.

“We are inherently a green business,” says president and CEO Chandra Sharma. “The kind of work we do promotes sustainability and advances green jobs. We also embed sustainability in our day-to-day operations and the work we do in our own facilities.”

Several examples illustrate this point, including electric vehicle charging stations in Conservation Halton’s main parking lot and recent office renovations that included installing LED lighting.

Staff have also worked hard to reduce Conservation Halton’s greenhouse gas emissions. The Atmospheric Fund's annual emissions report for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) provides a barometer for Conservation Halton's success.

Sharma notes that employees at all levels participate in sustainability initiatives. There are staff-led tree planting days and eco challenges, such as eliminating straws and buying local. On the organization’s intranet, there’s an internal EcoChat forum where staff can share green living tips. At Conservation Halton, sustainability is a core value, strategic priority and way of life.

“People come to work for Conservation Halton because of the direct impact this organization has on the local environment, the community and their well-being,” says Sharma.

Barrett echoes this sentiment. “We have a strong emphasis on staff wellness,” she says. This is reflected in a range of benefits and perks, including free premium access to the Calm mental health app, an annual wellness fair, and free yoga and meditation sessions.

“We want our staff to be happier and healthier — this not only connects them to our mandate, but it’s good for their overall health and well-being,” says Sharma. “It’s important that we lead by example — we like to walk the talk.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Canada's Greenest Employers winners, published April 22, 2025 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.