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FYI March 2010 (also available as pdf file)
Back to other FYIs (UTRCA Newsletters) |
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 Bill Schroeder (at right) and UTRCA’s Jay Ebel prepare Eastern Cottonwood cuttings at Fanshawe Conservation Area. |
Poplar ResearchBill Schroeder, Research Unit Manager with the Agroforestry Development Centre division of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (located in Indian Head, Saskatchewan) visited the UTRCA on March 9 to collect cuttings from Eastern Cottonwood. This trip was Bill’s second to our watershed in the past year. In April 2009, Bill was here to collect cuttings from Balsam Poplar. For each species, Bill collected 25-30 cuttings from 15 different trees from across the Upper Thames watershed. This plant material will become part of a larger genetic pool from across Canada. All the material collected is being rooted and grown at Indian Head. The material will then be used in climate change research. Contact: , Forester
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Record Low Winter PrecipitationThe four month total precipitation recorded at Environment Canada’s London Airport gauge from November to February was the lowest on record and only 50% of normal. A similar low precipitation total was recorded at the UTRCA’s Highway 7 weather station near St. Marys over the same period. The accumulated snow-pack was measured on March 1 and found to contain 50-70 mm of water-equivalent along the western and northern edges of the upper Thames watershed (as manually measured by UTRCA at ‘snow survey sites’ located throughout the watershed). In the remainder of the watershed, the snow-pack was measured to contain less than 30 mm of water-equivalent in most locations. From a review of available long-term records, the accumulated snow-pack was approximately 50% of the normal expected across the watershed prior to the spring melt. The current period of below normal precipitation actually began last fall. The Upper Thames Low Water Response Team confirmed a Level 1 Low Water Condition in early December, as a result of below normal precipitation in the fall. The Level 1 Low Water Condition remained in effect thoughout the winter months, and now continues into March. The spring snow-melt is expected to significantly replenish watershed streams and groundwater. However, due to the significant precipitation deficit accumulated over the past months, it is expected that additional precipitation will be required before the watershed can be considered to have recovered from the Level 1 Low Water Condition. Contact: , Water Resources Engineer |
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River Safety 2010Community Education staff are on the road, visiting schools in the watershed to deliver the River Safety Program. The program, developed in 1998, teaches Grade 2 students to make appropriate safety decisions near waterways. Students participate in four activities: “The Journey of Splish and Splash,” “Build a Watershed,” “Splish/Splash Bingo” and “Where are Splish and Splash?”) All the participants receive a Splish/Splash bookmark and a River Safety Activity booklet. The program is generously sponsored by service clubs in the watershed. Contact: or , Community Education Specialists |
 UTRCA’s Mia King (at right) helps students find Splish and Splash. |
Woodstock TalkCraig Merkley gave a presentation to the Woodstock Field Naturalists on February 1, focusing on agricultural projects in the Upper Thames watershed. His talk highlighted the history of conservation work in the watershed, specifically in the upper Avon River watershed. The club meets the first Monday of each month, and has about 35 members. Contact: , Conservation Services Specialist Volunteers Needed for Water FestivalThe London-Middlesex Children’s Water Festival is quickly approaching. Don’t miss the opportunity to volunteer at this exciting, educational event! Over 3,000 students are expected to descend on Fanshawe Conservation Area and Fanshawe Pioneer Village from May 18 to 21, to explore the world of water through hands-on activities. Registration is still open for teachers who would like to involve their grades 3, 4 and 5 students. |
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Volunteers are being recruited for this four-day event. Volunteers are needed to run activity stations and to help out behind the scenes with an assortment of tasks such as greeting students upon arrival, parking, lunch time supervision, bus departure and re-filling water stations. Volunteers are asked to commit to a full day (8:00 am – 2:00 pm); however, there are some tasks for volunteers who are only available for part of a day. Contact: , Water Festival Coordinator Volunteers at the previous London-Middlesex Children’s Water Festival. |
Landowner Tree Planting WorkshopOn the evening of February 17, 40 landowners attended a Tree Planting Workshop at the Ilderton Community Centre. The workshop was co-hosted by Trees Ontario, Ontario Forestry Association and the Ausable Bayfield, St. Clair Region and Upper Thames River Conservation Authorities. The workshop introduced landowners to the Trees Ontario 50 Million Tree Program, the Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program (MFTIP) and the tree planting services offered by the three Conservation Authorities. Greg Greer from Trees Ontario spoke about the funding opportunities through the 50 Million Tree Program for landowners who were willing to plant a minimum of 2 hectares (5 acres) to trees. Will Martin from the Ontario Forestry Association focused on the MFTIP program, which rewards landowners with lower taxes on forested land being managed under good forest management practices. Steve Shaw (SCRCA) and John Enright (UTRCA) spoke about developing and maintaining a successful tree planting project. It is hoped that in the future many of the landowners attending will participate in these programs. Contact: , Forester |
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30 Years and Counting!This year marks the 30th Anniversary of “Inspiring a Healthy Environment” through Community Education at the UTRCA. In an effort to build on relationships with teachers and students, we have started two Community Education Facebook accounts, one for Fanshawe and one for Wildwood. Wildwood is also on Twitter at wildwoodEDUC. Become a fan by visiting us at Fanshawe Outdoor Education Centre or Wildwood Outdoor Education Centre, and you’ll get all our updates and events listing. We hope that over time, as our fan-base grows, we will get a good indication of what is on the minds and in the hearts of those in the education sector. Contact: , Community Education Specialist
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University of Toronto Research ProjectAs part of a graduate year project, students from the University of Toronto’s Environmental Research course have initiated a project that is “investigating incentive mechanisms for the provision of ecosystem services implemented by community organizations from across southern Ontario.” Twelve different programs are taking part, including our regional Clean Water Program. Ten other Conservation Authorities are also participating, along with two municipalities. A team of four students visited the UTRCA in late January. Staff provided information about the Clean Water and Report Card Programs. The students’ project wraps up in April 2010. Contact: , Coordinator, Conservation Services Clean Water Program UpdateWith 255 projects completed in 2009 throughout Middlesex, Oxford and Perth Counties, as well as Stratford, St. Marys and London, the Clean Water Program (CWP) shows no signs of slowing down. Area landowners remain committed to improving and protecting surface water and groundwater quality. After nine years, almost 2200 projects have been carried out. The project list includes:
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Soil erosion control projects remain a high priority to area landowners. This grassed waterway, 25 metres wide and 1 metre deep, will provide protection from damaging runoff events. Over 12 acres (5 hectares) of land were permanently retired on this farm to accommodate this project. We recognize this as a huge commitment. |
Other projects have included installing safe fuel and fertilizer storage and handling systems, properly disposing of milkhouse washwater, volunteer nutrient management plans and diverting clean water away from potential contaminant sources. Since 2001, these projects have been reflected in more than $11.5 million in total value, of which landowners have contributed over $7.4 million. The local municipalities have remained committed to this program by providing annual cost-sharing. The CWP is a local initiative that directly reflects regional water quality issues. In a recent enhancement, Oxford County created two new project categories to reflect the recommendations of the Oxford County Natural Heritage Study. Landowners in that county have been able to apply for projects to enhance woodlands or wetlands on their properties this past year. |
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The CWP has been the delivery agent for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment’s Ontario Drinking Water Stewardship Program in the Thames-Sydenham and Region Source Protection Region. This program offers cost-sharing to landowners residing within 100 metres and/or the 2-year time of travel of municipal wellheads. Projects have been carried out in Dorchester, St. Pauls, Thamesford, Ridgetown, Highgate, Chatham, Ingersoll, Embro, Thorndale and Sweaburg. Generally, our delivery of the program is limited to septic system replacements or hook-ups to municipal sewer systems, well decommissioning and hooking up to municipal water supplies. Contact: , Coordinator, Conservation Services On the AgendaThe following items will be presented at the UTRCA Board of Directors meeting on March 23, 2010. Click HERE for Board meeting minutes.
Contact: , Executive Assistant |
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This page was last
revised on
January 27, 2012.
Copyright © 2012 Upper Thames River Conservation Authority 1424 Clarke Road, London, Ontario, Canada N5V 5B9 tel: 519-451-2800 fax: 519-451-1188 All rights reserved. |
