Doug Ratz, one of the Grand River’s champions, passed away on Dec. 1 in his 74th year.
His volunteer involvement in local organizations spanned three decades.
Ratz is survived by his wife Gwelda (nee Haskins) Ratz and his children Kim and Jason (and his wife Rhonda), as well as grandchildren Brandon and Jessica. Also left to mourn his passing are his brother David, wife Joyce (of Iron Bridge) and their families.
Ratz, formerly a teacher of Laurel Vocational School in Waterloo, will be remembered for his long-standing community work.
The former Alma area resident, began as a watershed warrior, taking on the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) to halt a dam project that he and others opposed.
In the late 1970s, Ratz took his first step into environmental activism, becoming part of a small group heading up local opposition to the GRCA’s West Montrose Dam proposal.
For the next several years, Ratz said his basement became the meeting place for about 100 people, who eventually garnered in excess of 5,000 signatures on petitions.
The citizens, along with a local developer, challenged the dam proposal at the Ontario Municipal Board.
Later, he worked from within the system to achieve his goals, joining the authority’s board of directors and eventually earning one of the GRCA’s prestigious Watershed Awards.
Health issues eventually led Ratz to require dialysis, which limited both his mobility and his ability to participate in the many organizations of which he was a part.
In addition to his involvement with Friends of the Grand, Ratz was a founder of the Elora Centre for Environmental Excellence and part of Ontario Streams.
He was also a member of the committee that formulated the Grand River Fisheries Management Plan.
The centre for excellence was initiated by a small group of people, including Ratz, who received a grant of nearly $100,000 for local environmental work.
Some 20 years later the centre is still going strong, with its own fundraising arm to keep the programs happening.
The centre provides energy assessment and upgrade assistance for homeowners, as well as operating tree stewardship and water quality programs.
Over the years Ratz’s environmental work has also included helping to find funding to put up fencing to keep livestock out of Swan and Carroll creeks, and working with the GRCA and the Ministry of Natural Resources to establish many new river access points that opened up recreational use in the tailwater area of the Grand River south of Belwood Lake, which now boasts a world class trout fishery.
In the late 80s, Ratz became a provincial appointee to the GRCA board.
Because of his constant involvement in watershed environmental organizations and issues, Ratz was often at the GRCA offices.
Eventually, they gave him a desk in the lunch room.
“They said if you’re going to be here every day you better have a desk to work from,” Ratz said in a 2013 interview.
“Well, then I got to speak to anyone on the conservation authority that had anything to do with environment anywhere.”
For Ratz, the connection to the Grand was a natural one.
“I grew up on the Grand River,” he said last year. “It was a natural for me to say it’s part of my history, let’s get involved in the preservation of things here.”
Ratz, through organizations such as Friends of the Grand and the Centre for Environmental Excellence, was involved in the planning of about 60,000 trees between 1995 and 2000.
In addition to the Watershed Award, Ratz has received other accolades for his work.
In 1994 he was selected as Elora’s citizen of the year.
He also received the Bruce Buckland award from the Ruffed Grouse Society.
However, he preferred to avoid the spotlight, instead focussing on what could be accomplished by groups of dedicated volunteers working together.
“Communities cannot exist without their volunteers,” he stated.
Ratz once said volunteerism gave him “a reason to get up in the morning.
“It gives me a reason to be around people and it gives me a reason to feel good about what I do.”
Condolences for the family and donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation or the Canadian Diabetic Society may be arranged through the Erb and Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King St. S., Waterloo, at www.erbgood.com or 519-745-8445.
To honour Doug’s wishes, cremation has taken place, and a celebration of life will take place at a later time.
With files from Patrick Raftis
