Your donation can turn into trees
Happy #EarthDay! (Friday, April 22, 2022)
Take local action today for a global challenge.
Donate now to permanent local tree planting through the Carbon Footprints to Forests program:
Find out your carbon footprint and donate to compensate for all or part of it.
- Donate $11 and we will plant two trees.
- Donate $22 and we will plant four trees.
- Donate $55 and we will plant ten trees.
If you have meetings, counter-balance the carbon footprint of automobile travel to your meeting with a compensating donation.
Visit footprintstoforests.com for the easy-to-use carbon calculator.
|
|
Plant native species this Earth Month
With #EarthDay (Friday, April 22, 2022) coming up, remember that native plant species are smart!
Help to protect species – plant native plant species.
Learn more:
Carolinian Canada reminds us native plant species have benefits for all soil types and all people, whether you are on a town, village, or farm.
How are native plants smart? They are:
- Water-smart: Deep roots for drought tolerance
- Farm-smart: Support pollination, natural pest control
- Soil-smart: Improve soil fertility, reduce erosion
- Nature-smart: Support local species and ecosystems
- Seed-smart: Part of a local living seed bank
- Carbon-smart: Sequester more with deep roots
- Neighbour-smart: Add beauty to your community
(Thanks, Carolinian Canada, for this valuable reminder!)
Native plant species improve soil and water quality.
Download the Native Vegetation Guide for Landowners now:
Visit the Carolinian Canada store here for native plants:
Find out more:
|
|
Latest actions fulfilling Conservation Authorities Act update requirements
Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) continues to fulfil requirements of the Conservation Authorities Act update and associated regulations.
Staff presented an information report, to the April 21, 2022 meeting of the ABCA Board of Directors, outlining actions taken (since the previous update, to the Board, on February 17) to fulfil expectations.
ABCA has provided the Inventory of Current Programs and Services to member municipalities and to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP); and to Conservation Ontario.
Our conservation authority submitted input on the Phase 2 regulations and the Environmental Registry website.
Staff are working with neighbouring conservation authorities to develop a consistent agreement for planning services that can be provided to member municipalities and counties for their consideration.
Staff are working on other Conservation Authorities Act requirements which are to be presented to the ABCA Board of Directors at upcoming meetings.
To learn more about Conservation Authorities Act and our watershed visit Ausable Bayfield Conservation’s Conservation Authorities Act web page:
|
|
Ausable Bayfield Conservation hosts watershed-wide cleanup April 18-22, 2022 to celebrate Earth Day
School classes, community groups invited to take part in Watershed-Wide Cleanup to be eligible for conservation education program prize valued at $120
Earth Day is Friday, April 22, 2022. Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) is inviting schools and community groups in the watershed to take part in a watershed-wide cleanup from April 18-22, 2022 to celebrate Earth Day.
Ausable Bayfield Conservation is offering the prize of a conservation education program, valued at $120, to the winner of participating classes or community groups. To be entered in the contest, a school or community group (from the ABCA watershed area) must enter their data in a data collection sheet. The classroom or community group can plan where they will complete their cleanup and then register using this form:
The cleanups may take place in the schoolyard or a local community space and they should take place between April 18 and 22. Participating classes or groups should enter their data by April 29, 2022 to be eligible for a possible prize.
“The Watershed-Wide Cleanup is one way we can take local action to remove plastics from waterways, helping improve water quality and aquatic habitats,” said Nina Sampson, Conservation Educator. “Watersheds connect us all from the smallest creek to the oceans,” she said. Data collected will be available to participating classes to use in their mathematics classes. “Nothing beats real-world data,” she said.
Garbage is not only unsightly and unsanitary. Pollution, including pollution from plastics, is a major issue in the Great Lakes. Garbage can also be a threat to wildlife if they ingest it or become entangled in it.
School classes or community groups doing cleanups can expect to need gloves; garbage bags; and tongs (e.g., for picking up Personal Protective Equipment and other items it is advisable to not handle directly).
To learn more visit abca.ca or contact Ausable Bayfield Conservation at info@abca.ca or phone 519-235-2610 or toll-free 1-888-286-2610.
|
|
Follow Ausable Bayfield Conservation on LinkedIn
For those of you on LinkedIn, check out our new profile!
Follow us now:
|
|
Oaks and Acorns
in May
Oaks & Acorns May session is near!
Join us Tuesdays 10 -11:30 a.m. with your child age 2-4 to play in beautiful woods by Morrison Dam.
Outdoor play helps your child develop motor skills, senses and learn through play.
Register today:
Registration for Oaks and Acorns closes Monday, May 2, 2022 at 9 a.m.
|
|
Tremendous Trees Day Camp
Tremendous Trees Day Camp, at Rock Glen Conservation Area, Arkona, is Wednesday, August 10, 2022.
Learn more:
One day only!
|
|
|
Beautiful Bugs Day Camp
Beautiful Bugs Day Camp, at Clinton Conservation Area, is Thursday, August 4, 2022 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Learn more here:
One day only!
|
|
|
Wonderful Water Day Camp
Wonderful Water Day Camp, at Clinton Conservation Area, is Tuesday, August 9, 2022.
Read all about it:
One day only!
|
|
|
Marvelous Macros Day Camp
Marvelous Macros Day Camp, at Morrison Dam Conservation Area (MDCA), is Thursday, August 11, 2022.
Find out more:
This camp is now fully registered.
|
|
|
|
|
Community comes together for trees
More than 600 trees have been planted along Bayfield streets and closed road allowances by the Bayfield Tree Project.
This has been achieved by donations, volunteer efforts and, more recently, with help from the Municipality of Bluewater.
Recently the Bayfield Tree Project took on a different type of endeavour, one that brought people together, one knock at a time.
Bayfield Tree Project volunteers have long known that one of the reasons people love Bayfield is for the trees.
They recognized a new opportunity to continue to add to Bayfield’s tree cover by planting trees along a gully just south of the Fawn Creek Lane development.
After going door-to-door, they came away with overwhelming support for adding these trees along the gully.
Although there was no requirement for these trees to be planted by any municipal condition of development, these homeowners saw the value, and perhaps the beauty, in adding trees to their properties.
Hats off to the Bayfield Tree Project and the Fawn Creek Lane homeowners for striving to achieve a balance between our needs and the needs of our natural environment.
Contact garnetmcbride@gmail.com for more information about the Bayfield Tree Project.
Want to plant trees or a windbreak on your property? Contact Ian Jean at Ausable Bayfield Conservation at 519-235-2610 or toll-free 1-888-286-2610 or email ijean@abca.ca
|
|
Second Virtual Conservation Dinner online auction raises tens of thousands of dollars for community
Conservation Dinner charity auction went online, in 2022, for second year, raising more than $30,000 for community projects
The Conservation Dinner charitable auction was virtual in 2022, the second year the community fundraiser went online. The online auction ran from March 31 to April 7 and estimates are that it has raised more than $30,000 for needed projects in local communities.
The Conservation Dinner is a fundraising partnership of Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation and Exeter Lions Club. Dave Frayne is Chair of the Conservation Dinner Committee. He thanked all the generous donors and bidders who made this year’s event another successful fundraiser. He also thanked the volunteers who make it happen.
“I want to thank everyone who donated to the Virtual Conservation Dinner and everyone who bid in the online auction,” he said. “Your donations and your bids will benefit young people and the entire community.”
The #VirtualConservationDinner supports community work by the Lions Club and the Conservation Foundation. These projects, supported by sponsors, donors, bidders and volunteers, are many. They include parks and conservation areas; accessible nature trails in Bayfield, Clinton, Parkhill, Lucan, Arkona, Exeter, and Varna; outdoor recreation including a family-friendly fishing derby; a $1,000 student environmental bursary for local students; a summer job at Ausable Bayfield Conservation for a senior secondary school student; turtle monitoring in Port Franks and Ailsa Craig; aquatic habitat studies in Old Ausable Channel at Grand Bend; outdoor nature education; and other local projects that could not happen otherwise.
The estimated funds raised does not include additional donations expected through the Dine for Your Community program. The following six restaurants are donating some proceeds, from restaurant meals which were ordered on specific dates, to the community projects of the Dinner: Eddington’s of Exeter; Hessenland Inn; Dublin’s Family Restaurant; The Lake Hound of Grand Bend; The Lake House of Bayfield; and Robinson Fresh Café. The Conservation Dinner Committee Chair thanked all the participating restaurants.
In addition to these restaurants, many other restaurants generously donated gift certificates or dining experiences to the charitable auction fundraiser. Many other generous businesses and individuals also donated to the online auction.
The Dinner Committee Chair said he hopes the Conservation Dinner will be in person in 2023 but he thanked everyone who made it possible to support important community projects online even when planning large gatherings has not been possible over the past two years.
Over the 32-year history of the Conservation Dinner, it has raised more than $1.285 million for projects in local communities.
To learn more about the Conservation Dinner visit conservationdinner.com and abca.ca
|
|
New Land Acquisition Policy for Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority
The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) Board of Directors approved, at is April 21, 2022 regular meeting, a new Land Acquisition Policy.
Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority has been acquiring land for most of its 75-year history. Conservation authorities across the Province of Ontario have been acquiring land for environmental and community purposes since the 1940s.
Protecting environmentally-significant land through ownership has been recommended in ABCA watershed plans and provincial and federal strategies and reports. The ABCA Land Securement Plan (2008-2020) guided the land acquisition program for many years.
Staff proposed that it was time to update the plan with new information gained through various studies and to meet the requirements of the recent Conservation Authorities Act update.
The new Land Acquisition Policy includes a clearer and more concise policy section for the public, directors, staff, and to support funding applications.
The new policy is consistent with previous approaches, policy and tools available for land acquisition and meets the requirements of provincial legislation.
The policy also provides flexibility to consider current and future circumstances.
With the policy in place, the Land Acquisition Plan, scheduled to be completed in 2022, can be a practical, hands-on document with technical information, mapping, best management practices and procedures.
|
|
Ausable Bayfield Conservation offers six one-day specialty day camps at three different watershed locations in August 2022
Conservation educators at Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) are offering six specialty one-day summer nature day camps, at three different locations in the watershed, in August of 2022.
There are one-day summer nature camps on August 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, and 11.
There are two different one-day camps at Rock Glen Conservation Area in Arkona; two one-day day camps at Morrison Dam Conservation Area east of Exeter; and two one-day camps at Clinton Conservation Area.
The camps have different themes such as Fantastic Fossils; Beautiful Bugs; Delightful Decomposers; Wonderful Water; Tremendous Trees; and Marvelous Macros (Bugs).
“These new specialty one-day nature camps provide an opportunity for young people in different watershed communities to learn actively in the great outdoors and to connect with nature,” said Nina Sampson, Conservation Educator. “Parents and guardians can choose the location that is most convenient or the theme that is of greatest interest.”
To learn more visit Ausable Bayfield Conservation’s website (abca.ca) at this web page:
The deadline to register for the camps is July 4, 2022.
Once parents/guardians have completed registrations, they receive an automatic email that includes what to pack; where to pick up and drop off; and how to pay.
Here are the six one-day summer nature day camps and the links to register:
- August 3 – Rock Glen Conservation Area: Fantastic Fossils: (THIS CAMP IS FULL)
- August 4 – Clinton Conservation Area: Beautiful Bugs
- August 5 – Morrison Dam Conservation Area: Delightful Decomposers
- August 9 – Clinton Conservation Area: Wonderful Water
- August 10 – Rock Glen Conservation Area: Tremendous Trees
- August 11 – Morrison Dam Conservation Area: Marvelous Macros (Bugs) (THIS CAMP IS FULL)
Camps run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Parents/guardians can drop off their children as early as 8:30 a.m. and pick them up until 4:30 p.m. The cost of each day camp is $40. Each camp will run only if there are enough registrations (at least 10) and the maximum number of campers on each day is 16.
|
|
Garlic Mustard Pull at Morrison Dam Conservation Area
A community Garlic Mustard Pull takes place from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 7, 2022 at Morrison Dam Conservation Area (MDCA), at 71402 Morrison Line, two kilometres east of Exeter (south side of the reservoir).
Meet at the pavilion on Saturday, May 7, 2022 at 1 p.m.
Why remove Garlic Mustard?
Garlic Mustard is an invasive plant that can have a negative impact on our forest ecosystem health.
Removing Garlic Mustard is a positive action we can take to protect forest health and steward the land.
Participants will learn how to identify Garlic Mustard (and Poison Ivy!) and how to effectively remove it.
They will then be assigned an area to tackle. All ages are welcome.
Secondary school students can bring their Community Involvement Form to be filled out by Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) staff.
What to Wear:
- Dress for the weather.
- Long pants and close-toed shoes are recommended
- Please bring your own gardening gloves (optional)
- Please bring a face mask for when physical distancing is not possible
In order to keep track of numbers and collect contact information should the event need to be changed due to weather, please register here:
Questions? Please contact Nina at nsampson@abca.ca
|
|
|
|
