It's a Fact Isabelle is a leader and a fighter. She has been spreading the word about the environmental impacts of unchecked development on the Niagara Escarpment in southern Ontario.

Designated a World Biosphere Reserve, the Niagara Escarpment contains countless wetlands and swamps and an ever-diminishing tract of Carolinian Forest, all of which would be devastated by the proposed highway development.

Already the site of a number of massive quarry operations, a new proposal for a limestone quarry on the escarpment in 2005 set Isabelle on a mission to co-found Protecting Escarpment Rural Land (PERL). For the past year, Isabelle has helped to establish PERL’s credibility with local government agencies and has engaged the community in dialogue about the proposed  quarry development.

Closer to home, Isabelle has gathered a group of volunteers to help plant over 300 shrubs and trees for erosion control and air quality enhancement along the banks of a local creek. She has also negotiated with the regional conservation authority to plant an additional 1200 trees and shrubs along the bank.

Known for her diplomatic approach to keeping the group on track and working in concert with politicians and the community, Isabelle has been spreading the word about development on the escarpment and the environmental impacts that will follow if left unchecked.