Ancaster’s Stephen Gleave is an employment lawyer who has successfully completed 300 Labour and Commercial arbitrations, 50 trials and 50 Labour and Civil Injunctions. He began his education studying Law at Queens and after earning his LL.B., moved onto graduate studies at Oxford University and then eventual admittance into the Canadian Bar Association and Law Society of Ontario. Despite his accomplishments, however, he is also a naturalistic man who enjoys the wonders of farm and nature, and he has never felt such a connection with southern Ontario than in his own small historic town of Ancaster, Ontario.
Ancaster was founded in 1793 and quickly found itself as one of the most influential settlements of early Upper Canada communities in the late 18th century due to its proximity to prehistoric indigenous trading routes and water accessibility. Now it is a cover town just west of Hamilton.
One can find Stephen Gleave on his 100 acre farm right outside of Ancaster, where he works to preserve and expand the old Carolinian forests that border his property. Every year sees a new selection of Tulip trees, Kentucky coffee trees and others of the old growth deciduous forest that have been rapidly depleting over several decades. When he isn’t trying to conserve the natural forest of his Ancaster home, he’s planting orchards of plums, apples, pears and cherries. His expertise on planting has earned him a bountiful harvest for many years and many more to come.
Stephen Gleave compliments his farm with the raising of bees and Scottish highland cattle. Organic and local honey is a yearly treat for him, and through his perfecting of beekeeping he’s built up a health respect for the studious animal. His herd of cattle originating from the titular Scottish Highlands and the Outer Hebrides islands of Scotland are also a passion of his, a hobby that has proved fortuitous thanks to the animal’s hardy penchant for withstanding the colder conditions of temperate regions.
One can also find Stephen far north from the historic town of Ancaster where he was born on the Saugeen River, where he spends his off days perfecting his fly fishing arm and teaching others the sport.
Stephen enjoys the town of Ancaster by running 30-40 a week. Each path he takes leads him along another new route in this small historic town that continues to fascinate him.
Teaching others is part of what drives Stephen Gleave to continue his work learning more about Ancaster and Southern Ontario as a whole.