Loving the Local: A Kennedy Stewardship Conversation
Date: September 11, 2026
Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: Chedoke Estate, 1 Balfour Drive, Hamilton, Ontario
Among those of us who are concerned about the natural environment, we often start with politics and global issues—climate change is a quintessential example. Yet it is precisely at this society-wide scale where each of us, as individuals, can have the least impact. Ironically, many of those in our society who vote or are moved by these big, abstract environmental challenges are the same people who couldn’t name a species of tree in their own neighbourhood. Why is there a disconnect between our desire to protect “the environment” writ large and our actual love for the actual natural environment immediately around us?
Join us on September 11, 2026, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on the grounds of Cardus’s beautiful Chedoke Estate for a Kennedy Stewardship Conversation about loving the local. In conversation with Cardus’s President, Canada, Brian Dijkema, we’ll hear from Hamilton conservationists, scientists, and teachers—Dr. Edward Berkelaar and Doug Sikkema of Redeemer University, and Amanda Hildebrand of A Rocha Canada—and learn how to love the environment in concrete ways exactly where we are. Together, we’ll discover what it means to fall in love again with the world around us—the actual trees, creeks, and neighbours we’ve been given to know and to keep. Our hope is for guests to carry the seed of that renewed love home: to plant it, tend it, and let it take root as real stewardship on your own street, in your own backyard, in your own community.
Meet Our Speakers
Brian Dijkema is the President, Canada at Cardus, and Senior Editor of Comment. He is a public policy analyst, public commentator, and writer.
Dr. Edward Berkelaar is Associate Dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Science at Redeemer University, where he has taught since 2003. His research focuses on the bioavailability of trace elements in soil and plants, and for years he has monitored water quality in Hamilton’s Chedoke Creek and Red Hill Creek watersheds. He holds a PhD in ecotoxicology from the University of Guelph and lives in Hamilton, where he gardens and hikes the local trails.
Amanda Hildebrand is the Ontario Program Manager at A Rocha Canada, a Christian conservation organization. Drawing on a background in education, permaculture, and nonprofit leadership, she builds hands-on programming, conservation projects, and wonder-filled experiences that help people connect with the biodiversity around them. She is especially passionate about weaving faith, community, and environmental stewardship together in everyday life.
Doug Sikkema is a Senior Fellow in Research at Cardus and Associate Professor of Core Studies and English at Redeemer University, where he holds the Wolters Fellowship for the Humanities. He earned his PhD in English from the University of Waterloo, writing his dissertation on religion and the environment in contemporary American literature, and is the author of For the World’s Sake: Charlotte Mason’s Enduring Wisdom for the Anthropocene (2023). He also co-founded Oak Hill Academy, a classical Christian school in Ancaster, and serves as an associate editor of Comment magazine.
Part of the Kennedy Steward Conversations Event Series
How can we best steward the gift that is the Earth? How can we be fruitful and multiply, while also caring for creation? The Kennedy Stewardship Conversations event series is made possible by the estate of Wilhelmina Kennedy and will help unpack these questions this fall, while also equipping the next generation to take up this important mandate.
The Kennedy Stewardship Conversations series is also strengthened through an institutional sponsorship from A Rocha Canada. A Rocha is an international Christian organization which, inspired by God’s love, engages in scientific research, environmental education, community-based conservation projects and sustainable agriculture.
About Wilhemina Kennedy
Wilhelmina Margaretha Kennedy (1933–2025) (née de Groot) was a Dutchborn Canadian artist whose life was shaped by faith, creativity, and a deep love of nature. Born in the Netherlands on June 18, 1933, she grew up in the Mauritshuis Museum, where her father was curator and her mother a classical singer—an upbringing that fostered her lifelong passion for the arts.
After immigrating to Canada in 1952, she later earned a Fine Arts degree from the Ontario College of Art and continued her studies in Art History at McMaster University.
A devoted teacher, Wilhelmina inspired many students and her eight grandchildren with her love of art. Her work—ranging from landscapes and still lifes to abstract pieces—often reflected her Christian faith and can be found in private collections and public spaces, including Redeemer University. She played an instrumental role in founding the Colborne Art Gallery and supporting its exhibitions.
Wilhelmina cherished God’s creation, spending time camping in Killarney and walking the forest she loved—soon to be preserved as Wilhelmina Woods through the Northumberland Land Trust. She passed away on January 16, 2025, at the age of 91, leaving behind a legacy of beauty, faith, and community.