Retired from consulting, Leadbeater continues to volunteer for favourite projects, including the Couchiching Conservancy Land Trust as well as Harcourt Park Incorporated. A graduate of the University of Toronto, her focus has been on mitigation of climate change effects through land acquisition and management.

Along with Anne M. Barbour, she is the co-author of The Flora of the Kawarthas: An Illustrated Checklist of the Flora of the City if Kawartha Lakes, which includes reflections on historical ecology, occupation and how the current vegetation patterns were formed. The book is comprised of 14 years of research.

Any paddler will tell you that it’s not a good idea to stand up in a canoe or kayak. But that is exactly what Dale Leadbeater did when she noticed the distinctive bladders of American Bladdernut (Staphylea trifolia) growing on the bank of the Black River where she was paddling with two friends. “It couldn’t be, could it? Have to get a specimen to be sure!” She very carefully stood up in the kayak, while her friends exclaimed “Are you crazy?” Dale had to reach over her head to clip off a fruit-bearing twig. Then she had to sit down again… nearly as risky as standing up. But with the help of sturdy Red-osier Dogwoods for balance, she did not get wet. It turned out to be the only location in the entire City for this large shrub.

https://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/opinion/contributors/2022/03/11/flora-of-the-kawartha-lakes.html

Book:

The Flora of Kawartha Lakes (2022)