Smith Christmas Tree Farm

_DSC0140Location: Town of Pelham and City of Thorold, Niagara Region

 Acres: 49.95 acres (20.21 ha)

Description: The SCTF is located along the Niagara Escarpment within the Carolinian Life Zone just south of Short Hills Provincial Park.  The property includes working agricultural lands in the form of a mixed-aged Christmas tree farm and a tenant Colorado Spruce nursery field, a naturalizing historical White Pine plantation, successional woodland, upland deciduous forest, lowland deciduous forest, and a small thicket swamp.

_DSC0092History: Jim and Mary Smith, began living on the farm in 1975, most of the property has been in the Smith Family since 1889. The Conservation Easement Agreement with the Niagara Land Trust was officially completed August 2012. The main restrictions will limit the number of residences on the property to one, prevent the subdivision of the property and limit the size of structures for agricultural practices in the protected area to 200 sq meters total

Ecological Significance:

  • Twelve Mile Creek headwaters and 2 tributaries, cold water stream,
  • Niagara Escarpment,
  • located south of Short Hills Provincial Park and St. Johns Education Centre.
  • 8 vegetation communities
  • over 200 flora and fauna species documented to date
  • over 50 bird species sighted on or using the property
  • 9 mammal species
  • 6 amphibians/reptiles
  • 4 SAR – Butternut, Eastern flowering dogwood, snapping turtle, milk snake
  • 2 regionally rare – twinleaf and ground juniper
  • 16 regionally uncommon

Management and Access: Currently developing a management plan for Smiths’. We are looking to improve the diversity, increase habitat and try to manage some of the invasive species on the property

Property is not open to the public and permission is required to be on the property.