|
|
|
|
|
|
As Love Your Greats Day approaches, think about the actions you will take to keep your Great Lake great.
|
|
Love Your Greats Day is Saturday, August 13, 2022
What actions can you take, on Love Your Greats Day, to protect Lake Huron?
A day to celebrate and protect our Great Lakes, called Love Your Greats Day, is held the second Saturday of every August. In 2022, this special day is on Saturday, August 13.
Love Your Greats Day organizers say local citizens like you, and local communities like yours, can take positive actions to protect Lake Huron and the other Great Lakes.
There are many ways you can help Lake Huron. You may take litterless lunches to the beach, properly dispose of waste, and help clean up litter along Lake Huron. You may use reusable water bottles and refill them at local water refill stations.
“Each positive action you take adds up,” organizers say.
Organizers encourage you to think of actions you can take, as an individual, to protect and improve the Great Lakes. They invite you to choose products that don’t pollute; to reduce your plastic use; and to do projects that slow down or capture water running off of your property.
You might plant trees or donate to tree planting programs.
You may use rain barrels or add rain gardens or wetlands or make other stormwater management improvements.
Consider adding green infrastructure to your property. This benefits creeks, rivers, and Lake Huron. This natural infrastructure can also help us adapt to extreme weather and changing climates. Learn more and watch this video now:
Green infrastructure includes forests and woodlots, wetlands and stormwater ponds, soil, and natural areas. It also includes technologies to absorb water and manage runoff. These technologies include rain barrels and permeable pavement.
These green technologies filter and store stormwater and replicate ecosystem functions. Contact your local conservation authority to find out about technical expertise and grant incentives that may be available to help you.
Enhancing natural features and green infrastructure has many benefits to our Lake Huron communities. It can help to store, filter, and treat water running over land during storm events. Adding natural features to our landscape has benefits for air and water quality. It provides habitat for wildlife and pollinators. It makes our communities more resilient and better prepared to adapt during extreme weather as our climate continues to change. Green infrastructure can reduce flood risk by slowing and reducing stormwater. This is an economic benefit as well.
To find out more actions you can take to protect your Great Lake, visit the Healthy Lake Huron – Clean Water, Clean Beaches Partnership at healthylakehuron.ca (and follow Healthy Lake Huron on social media) share your stories by using #loveyourgreats or tagging @loveyourgreats on social media and visit loveyourgreats.com
|
|
|
|
Pine River Watershed Initiative Network works in partnership with local landowners to plant trees
The Pine River Watershed Initiative Network (PRWIN) continues to work with local landowners in the community to realize the Network’s vision of “clean water and a healthy ecosystem within the Pine River watershed.”
This spring, directors and other volunteers planted seedlings to create a windbreak, a buffer, and to reforest retired farmland. This is “another step moving forward to improve the water quality in our community watershed.”
The planted seedlings include a mix of Red Maple; White Cedar; White Spruce; Norway Spruce; White Oak; Black Walnut; and Black Cherry.
The PRWIN thanks its directors (David Grant, Murray Jamieson, Don Farrell, Bill Smith) and volunteers Jim Roberts and Connor Dixon for their time and efforts to complete the reforestation sites.
The Network also gives a special thanks to Maitland Valley Conservation Authority and Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority for sourcing the seedlings.
The Pine River Watershed Initiative Network welcomes projects from local landowners. Berms, tree planting, cattle crossing and wetlands are the majority of project requests.
Landowners allow PRWIN to help them manage in-ground projects by working together to secure funding and co-ordinate contractors.
The Network says this is a great opportunity to protect and enhance the Pine River watershed.
You are invited to please contact PRWIN at pineriverwin@yahoo.ca
|
|
Huron Clean Water Project allocates more funding for project categories including woodlot enhancement
Project partners encourage Huron County residents to take advantage of increased support, apply for projects through Huron Clean Water Project
There are more grant funds available, in several grant categories of the Huron Clean Water Project, for projects by Huron County landowners. The Huron Clean Water Project (HCWP) project review committee has allocated more grant funds to the categories of Forest Management Plans and Woodlot Enhancement; and Fragile Land Retirement.
“We encourage landowners in Huron County to apply for grants in these and other categories to further protect and improve local water quality,” said County of Huron Warden Glen McNeil.
The County of Huron increased funding by $50,000, in 2022, for water quality projects for a total of $500,000 in available funds. “Huron County Council continues to make it a priority to support water quality improvement by our county residents and community groups,” said Warden McNeil.
As well as the categories with increased funding allocations, there are more than a dozen other grant categories with grants available. To learn more about the Huron Clean Water Project visit:
The Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) and the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) deliver the Huron Clean Water Project program on behalf of the County of Huron. Nathan Schoelier is ABCA Stewardship and Lands Manager. He said the increased support for several grant categories implements recommendations from staff working on the ground with landowners.
“Tree planting projects, and good woodlot management practices are important stewardship projects to complete,” he said. “The Huron Clean Water Project grant review committee approved these priorities and now we want to let landowners know we can provide more support in these important categories.” He said, in many cases, grants through Huron Clean Water Project can be combined with grants from other programs to help support landowners’ projects as much as possible.
Ben Van Dieten is MVCA Stewardship Projects Lead. He said staff are also looking to build upon the success of the Cover Crop Incentive category, and the large number of acres it benefits across the County, by inviting landowners to contact the conservation authority about supporting other soil health improvement projects. This may help to kick-start new efforts to reduce tillage and improve the soil health upon which we all rely, he said.
To apply for funding, or to learn more, call Maitland Conservation at 519-335-3557, extension 245, or Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority at 519-235-2610, extension 263.
Staff can help you to apply for grants and to make the process really simple, according to project spokespersons.
|
|
|
|
Tenth Annual Ipperwash Beach Cleanup on Saturday, September 10, 2022 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
You are invited to the Tenth Annual Ipperwash Beach Cleanup on Saturday, September 10, 2022 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
This 'end-of-summer' beach cleanup is looking for some volunteers.
Please meet at Centre Ipperwash Beach Boat Launch (at the end of Ipperwash Road) for a garbage cleanup with friends. All ages are welcome!
Please be prepared for walking along sand and road surfaces.
Please wear close-toed footwear, a hat, and gloves (latex gloves and hand sanitizer are to be available).
You may also want to bring a refillable water bottle.
Please reply to Emily, Febrey Stewardship Communications Technician at St. Clair Conservation, by email at efebrey@scrca.on.ca
The event is hosted with financial support from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP).
|
|
Four videos released with shoreline themes
Four videos provide information of interest to people visiting Lake Huron, living along or near the lake, and people thinking of buying shoreline property or building near lake
Three local conservation authorities, working with community partners, have released four videos on shoreline themes for public information.
The 2022 video series, videotaped by a professional video production company, includes two new videos and two updated videos.
The videos provide information on four themes:
- Shoreline processes
- Living with erosion
- What you need to know before planning to build along the shoreline
- What you need to know before buying property along the shoreline.
“We hope this series of videos will provide valuable information to people who own property near Lake Huron, to those who are considering a shoreline purchase or who are planning to build here or people who are simply planning to visit,” said Ashley Richards, Communications Coordinator with Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority (SVCA). “Some people who are new to Lake Huron, or who are considering moving here or building here, may want more information about the natural hazards that exist along the shoreline, such as erosion, the permits that are required, and how to find out more.”
The 2022 Shoreline Information Video Series is possible due to funding support from federal departments and provincial agencies supporting the Lake Huron-Georgian Bay Watershed Canadian Community Action Initiative; Healthy Lake Huron – Clean Water, Clean Beaches Partnership; and local sources through Ausable Bayfield Conservation; Maitland Conservation; and Saugeen Conservation.
The Shoreline Processes and Living with Erosion videos were created thanks to the support of the Ashfield-Colborne Lakefront Association.
The video series includes participation of people in the community such as Wendy Little, real estate broker with Peter Benninger Realty.
To watch the videos, you may visit the YouTube channel of the Healthy Lake Huron – Clean Water, Clean Beaches Partnership here:
You may also visit the Healthy Lake Huron Facebook page here for the videos:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Don't forget to visit the Healthy Lake Huron website!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
