Great work everyone! Field Guide and hats are now SOLD OUT, with a portion of every purchase supporting reforestation work at Balsam Lake!
If you’re keen to support reforestation at Balsam Lake, please consider donating directly!
Ontario Parks and Collective Arts are brewing up a tasty ecological reforestation project for Balsam Lake Provincial Park this summer!
Field Guide is a special run of IPA inspired by the beauty and abundance of Ontario’s natural spaces.
Not sure how a new IPA is helping our forests? Read on!
Protecting our wild places
Endless pressures impact the health of our parks and the wildlife that depend on them. Biodiversity loss. Invasive species. Climate change. Faced with such big challenges, it can be easy to lose hope.
But we can rekindle hope through restorative action, creativity, and community.
At Ontario Parks, we are committed to building resilience into the wild spaces we love. Our friends at Collective Arts share this philosophy.
Together, we’re tackling a forest restoration project at Balsam Lake.
A triple-pronged effort for forest health
As is true for many southern provincial parks, Balsam Lake’s forest is in decline because of the loss of ash trees due to Emerald Ash Borer and the establishment of invasive plant species.
Humans have been a major vector for the spread of Emerald Ash Borer, so it’s only right that we should work to restore the damaged forests.
To help this forest heal and build resilience, we’ll be:
- removing invasive species, such as Scot’s Pine and Buckthorn, that are damaging the ecosystem’s overall health
- inoculating selected Black Ash trees (to protect them against the Emerald Ash Borer)
- planting native tree species, such as White Birch, White Cedar, and White Spruce, to fill in the gaps left by dead and dying ash trees
And just how does a new IPA contribute to reforestation?
Big problems can be solved through creativity and community. It’s no coincidence that Collective Arts was founded on those principles.
Their new IPA, Field Guide, was developed to help fund this critical forest restoration work. Fifty cents from every can sold will be donated to the Balsam Lake project.
Inspired by the natural beauty of Ontario’s provincial parks, Field Guide uses locally sourced fresh spruce tips and sumac, paired with hops and locally grown barley from Barn Owl Malt. A combination of fresh pine and bright citrus dominate the flavour and aroma of this very drinkable beer.
Even the can is a love letter to our wild spaces. Toronto artist Gosia Komorski featured local species like the Northern Leopard Frog and the stylized Round-headed Bushclover in the design.
Ready to raise up a cold one for our forests this summer?
A run of 10,000 cans of Field Guide will be sold exclusively at Collective Arts breweries (Hamilton and downtown Toronto) and online at Collective Arts [sold out].
Every purchase helps. At 50¢ per can sold, this special run will net $5,000 for Balsam Lake’s forests!
We can’t think of an easier way to support the health and resilience of our wild spaces than picking up a refreshing beverage to sip on your patio, balcony, or sofa.
Remember: humans aren’t separate from nature; we are part of our world’s wildness. While we cause or influence most of the current pressures, we can also act as ecostewards, helping our parks and other natural spaces thrive for years to come.
And we’re thrilled to be part of a creative local partnership taking an important step to do just that.
Looking to spruce up your wardrobe?
Pick up the All Spruced Up dad hat!
To keep the celebration of this partnership going, we teamed up on a limited-edition faded green distressed dad hat!
Proceeds from each hat sold goes towards the project.
Sincere thanks to our partner. Collective Arts is a craft brewing and distilling company with facilities in Hamilton and Toronto. Collective Arts is committed to ensuring that its products are as diverse and creative as the artists profiled through the packaging and promotion of these beverages.
Friendly (but important) reminder: if you bring Field Guide into a provincial park, keep in mind that alcohol is not permitted on trails, beaches, or anywhere other than your registered campsite.