Media Release
For Immediate Release
December 12, 2023

Up to $100,000 will go towards the construction of a LULA lift at Ska-Nah-Doht Museum

Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority Receives Enabling Accessibility Funding

Strathroy-Caradoc – 12/12/2023, The Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority is pleased to announce that it has received up to $100,000 towards the installation of a LULA lift (limited use limited application elevator) at Ska-Nah-Doht Village and Museum. This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Enabling Accessibility Fund.

The Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority is undertaking the construction of the LULA lift as part of its ongoing enhancement to Ska-Nah-Doht Museum, which some may know as the Longwoods Road Conservation Area Resource Centre. The lift will go a long way towards increasing accessibility at the museum as the 2025 benchmark for the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act approaches.

In 2017 and 2019 the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Foundation undertook the Longwoods Road Conservation Area Visioning Exercise and Longwoods Resource Centre Feasibility Study. These projects highlighted the need for increased accessibility at Ska-Nah-Doht Museum and community support for improvements to the museum space. Further work towards this goal is being undertaken through the construction of a new Indigenous Learning Centre and the revitalization of Ska-Nah-Doht Museum, funded in part with $750,000 from the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).

Each year, local schools, community groups, families and tourists from around the world come to Longwoods Road Conservation Area and Ska-Nah-Doht Village and Museum, which celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2023. The overarching project will provide visitors with an inclusive, welcoming space to gather, share and learn while experiencing local heritage and our environment, through a unique blend of exhibits and programs combining Indigenous Traditional Knowledge, Western ways of knowing and archaeology.

CAO / Secretary-Treasurer of the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Area, Mark Peacock, had this to say about the project at Longwoods Road Conservation Area: “This project will help achieve a vision of everyone being fully able to be part of the amazing experience that is Ska-Nah-Doht Village and Museum. We are excited to make this happen.”

For Further Information Contact:
Mark Peacock
CAO / Secretary-Treasurer
Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority
519-354-7310 x 224
[email protected]
www.ltvca.ca

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