2016 Muskoka Summit on the Environment
 

Registration opens soon for the 2016 Muskoka Summit on the Environment, which will take place May 27-28th at the Rene Caisse Theatre in Bracebridge.
 
The 2016 theme is Solutions for a Warming World and will feature six internationally renowned speakers who will address Climate Change from different perspectives, including:

• David Miller, President & CEO of World Wildlife Fund Canada
• Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada
• Stewart Elgie, Associate Director of the Institute of the Environment at the University of Ottawa
• Andy Heintzman, CEO and co-founder of InvestEco Capital Corp
• Catherine Potvin, Department of Biology Professor at McGill University
• Nigel Roulet, Professor of Biogeosciences at McGill University

The talks will culminate in a panel discussion led by Paul Kennedy, host of CBC Radio's Ideas, that will form the basis of a Summit communiqué.
 

Become a Sponsor!

MWC Receives Grant for Phragmites Awareness

Learning How to Manage Invasive Species
 

On December 10th, several MWC volunteers, together with District staff and Councillors, attended an Invasive Plant Management Strategy workshop in Midland. Hosted by the Ontario Invasive Plant Council and Sustainable Severn Sound with funding from the Invasive Species Centre, this workshop covered Ontario's new Invasive Species Act and also highlighted some effective municipal and community strategies (including ones in Lambton Shores and the City of London) that are successful in managing and slowing the spread of invasive species.

Here in Muskoka, we have dozens of invasive species across our watershed, in our gardens, our roadside ditches, our lakes, and our forests, and there are ways for you to slow down or minimize their ​spread. Next summer, MWC will be holding workshops to raise awareness about invasive species and their management, including Phragmites, or you can learn about Muskoka's invaders in the Living in Cottage Country handbook.
 

Paddling Event Donates to MWC and FMW

Hunter's Bay Radio Donates PSAs to MWC!
 

Listen to Hunter's Bay Radio online at http://www.huntersbayradio.com/ or on the radio at 88.7 FM to catch one of four public service announcements featuring tips on living sustainably in Cottage Country from MWC's new handbook. The PSAs were generously donated to MWC as a way to promote watershed health across Muskoka.
 
Hunters Bay Radio is Muskoka’s not-for-profit Community Radio Station. They operate with a contingent of over 50 staff and volunteers and fill a void in the local media by providing a wide variety of music and community programming, not otherwise available in the region. MWC is very grateful for this opportunity to reach a broader audience with our watershed health messages.
 
MWC and FMW are also excited to be regular guests on Green Tapestry, an environmental show hosted by Michael Peppard every Thursday at 10:35 am.
 

And the Winners Are...

We are thrilled to announce the 3 winners of the FMW raffle for 2015.

• 1st Prize, a Perception Tribe 13.5 Tandem Kayak, goes to Moira Innes of Port Carling
• 2nd Prize, a Perception Tribe 11.5 Solo Kayak, goes to Hal Bonus of Thornhill
• 3rd Prize, a custom, hand-crafted ash Grassmere paddle, goes to John Patterson of Dwight

Congratulations to our winners and a big Thank You to everyone who bought tickets. Your support is crucial to our ability to successfully implement our environmental programs, including research, awareness, and remediation, in Muskoka.

We’d also like to thank Algonquin Outfitters for their valuable assistance in obtaining the Perception Kayaks, displaying them in their stores in Bracebridge and Huntsville and for selling tickets, and Grassmere Paddles for their exceptional paddles.

PIRET HURRELL, Policy & Research and Strategic Directions Committees
 

Born and raised in Hamilton, Piret went to McMaster University, obtaining BSc degrees in Chemistry and Geology and, more recently, an Environmental Techniques Certificate from Georgian College. Her career spans work in mineral processing, manufacturing, foundry, government, private and commercial laboratories, and R&D, in supervisory and managerial capacities. Piret moved to Bracebridge in 1997 and joined the Muskoka Watershed Council in 2010.
 
Piret believes that our natural environment is a wonderful gift. By protecting it today, it will continue to sustain us in the future.
 
Muskoka Watershed Council (MWC): How did you first hear about MWC?
Piret: I suppose it was several factors at the time. The 2010 Watershed Report Card had just come out and interesting articles on environmental issues in the local newspaper coincided with my completing some environmental courses at Georgian College.

MWC: What made you want to volunteer with MWC?
Piret: Looking at the MWC website, I decided it was a worthwhile group of dedicated people who are trying very hard to make our municipality an environmentally safe and enjoyable place to live, for now and future generations. The diversity of life experiences and knowledge of the MWC members presents a fantastic base from which to continue my own environmental learning curve as well as share my own thoughts and experiences.
 
MWC: What MWC projects are you involved in?
Piret: When I joined MWC I jumped in with both feet - sitting on both the Strategic Directions and the Policy & Research Committees. Five years later I am still on both committees. The projects in which I’ve recently participated are the 2014 Report Card, Climate Change, and Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs).
 
MWC: What is your favourite part about living in Muskoka?
Piret: I love the small town feeling, fresh air (thanks to all our trees), many nearby lakes and the many wonderful people I’ve met whose work or volunteering makes this a great community.
 

Love Your Lake helps Renaturalize Three Shorelines in Lake of Bays!

Three properties on Lake of Bays are more enticing to wildlife thanks to a shoreline renaturalization program implemented through Love Your Lake! With funding from Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnerships Program, property owners on Lake of Bays, where the Love Your Lake program is completing a second year, were eligible to receive a subsidy for creating or enhancing their shoreline buffer.
 
MWC would like to thank the Lake of Bays Association (LOBA) for their assistance with the Love Your Lake program and the shoreline renaturalizations, and Dale Linton and Jacqueline Ramsay for participating in the renaturalization program. In addition to the Linton and Ramsay properties, The Bay park in Baysville also received a makeover to make it more hospitable to wildlife while reducing erosion on the property. Thank you to the Township of Lake of Bays and LOBA for making this possible. Northway Gardeners generously assisted with developing the planting plans and provided the plants and much of the labour for the renaturalizations.
 
MWC plans to continue this program on Lake of Bays in 2016, as funding permits. If you are interested in improving the shoreline buffer on your property, please contact info@muskokawatershed.org for more information.
 

IISD-ELA and Climate Change

• Part 1: Our Air Is Getting Warmer
• Part 2: Our Lakes Are Getting Less Icy
• Part 3: Our Lakes Are Getting Darker
• Part 4: Our Fish are Squeezing into Smaller Habitats
• Part 5: Our Fish Are Getting Smaller

Holiday Closure