The Haliburton Highlands Land Trust is pleased to announce that Adrian Martin is joining us for the summer as social media coordinator. You may have already noticed an uptick in the quality and frequency of our social media posts thanks to Adrian's efforts.
Once a Haliburton native (West Guilford to be exact), Adrian recently spent 13 years living the fast life in downtown Toronto. He climbed the corporate ladder, holding technical digital marketing roles in large media agencies, companies that planned and executed advertising campaigns for large brands. He led analytics, search engine marketing, and social media advertising campaigns for brands across a wide breadth of industries. From consumer packaged goods, to retailers, to electronics, finance, and automotive, he eventually rose to lead an entire department of digital specialists. Next trying his hand client-side at an e-commerce software company. He became disillusioned with the "growth at all costs" fervour of the tech world, as it increasingly came in conflict with his personal values.
Outdoors activities and nature especially have been central throughout his life. He has been privileged to experience much of Canada by trail, canoe, or by car. Highlights include hiking the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island, canoeing the Yukon River, and hiking Gros Morne. Back in Toronto, with hours spent in the car every weekend hiking sections of the Bruce Trail and frequent weekend trips back to Haliburton to visit family, it just wasn't making sense anymore. So, Adrian and his wife Kalyna decided to make the leap and move up to Haliburton in 2023.
Experiencing a layoff from the tech company, pushed Adrian to start his own consulting business, and now he is focusing on supporting local, sustainable, and socially conscious businesses. Since last summer he has been volunteering on the HHLT communications committee, working on new pages for the website, setting up back end analytics, and helping run the social media channels. He very much supports HHLT's mission to protect nature for future generations.
You can now find him in Ingoldsby or at the cottage on Little Fletcher near Dorset with Kalyna and their 10 week old baby girl Avery.