Julia Hunter Fund
Julia Hunter Fund
by Murray Hunter
The St. Anne’s pollination garden (1344 Commissioners Rd W in Byron)
The Julia Hunter Fund was created in 2005, in honour of the late Julia Hunter, to support public gardens in London and Southwestern Ontario. Design, culture, community and the environment are the focus areas. Community-based board members advise on operations.
The fund has developed a portfolio of projects including a city-wide garden contest, a symposium on heritage landscapes and the multi-year project Gardens for Bees, which has built 30 new pollination gardens across Southwestern Ontario.
We’re open to ideas for new undertakings and offer funding to groups based on application. Over the years, the fund has been an effective partner with existing community organizations such as Banting House, Eldon House, churches and municipalities.
We also accept volunteers, gifts in kind and cash donations, and in fact in recent years most of our projects have been funded through new donations. This has allowed our endowment income to grow, so as to help us imagine increasing the impact into the future. Supporters receive an annual newsletter of the year’s accomplishments and plans for the coming year.
We hold two social events each year, spring and fall, usually at the sites of current projects. We welcome sponsors for these events and are grateful for the support of companies such as Heeman’s Garden Centre and Via Rail.
London Community Foundation is the home of our endowment, managing investments and providing receipts to donors as well as wise counsel.
The Julia Hunter Fund is grateful for the support of Londoners and appreciates recognition from the community, such as Nature London’s 2018 Enviro Hero Award.
2021 Projects:
House Plants for Seniors (London)
Springbank Park Graham Arboretum rejuvenation (London)
Jack Purcell Community Centre enclosed garden renewal (Ottawa)
Montebello Park (St. Catharines)
For details on any of these projects please contact Murray Hunter at murray_hunter@sympatico.ca