Water Walkers to walk around Lake Huron
Water Walkers are walking 1,767 kilometres, in 30 days, around Naadowewi-gichigami (Lake Huron) to honour and protect the freshwater of the Great Lakes.
This initiative is led by a group of Anishinaabe-kwe grandmothers who are leading a series of Water Walks, over the next four years, throughout their traditional home waters, The Great Lakes.
You are invited to join the grandmothers as they walk to honour Nibi (Water) and connect the communities around these great bodies of water.
The Naadowewi-gichigami (Lake Huron) walk was scheduled to begin on July 21, 2024 on St Joseph’s Island, Algoma District.
Along Lake Huron's southeast shore (stretching from Tobermory to Sarnia), the grandmothers are scheduled to reach, in the first week of August, locations including Kincardine; Goderich; Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation; and Sarnia.
In answering the question 'Why We Walk,' according to The Water is Calling website: "We walk to honour and speak to Nibi and to all the water spirits, as our ancestors did. We pray for the return of healthy rivers, lakes, and oceans for the generations to come."
The Water is Calling website describes how: "Anishnaabek women hold a sacred connection to Nibi (water). It is a responsibility and duty to love, honour, respect, and thank Nibi for its work with all of creation on Mother Earth."
The Water is Calling initiative is supported by Algoma University and NORDIK Institute.
To learn more, including a map of the Water Walkers' route, visit The Water Is Calling website.
If you would like to donate to support the Water Walkers, to cover costs associated with transportation, food, materials, and accommodation for the Grandmothers as they walk to bring awareness to the importance of The Great Lakes' freshwater, please visit The Water is Calling donation web page.
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Show your love for the Great Lakes with positive action on Love Your Greats Day
Love Your Greats Day is Saturday, August 10, 2024
Love Your Greats Day, a day to show your love for the Great Lakes with positive action, is held the second Saturday of every August.
Saturday, August 10 is the #LoveYourGreats Day date in 2024.
Show your love for Lake Huron on this day and every day.
Community Cleanup
The Love Your Greats Day Community Cleanup takes place, along Lake Huron's southeast shore, in Bayfield, Ontario, Canada on Saturday, August 10, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. noon.
There are cleanups taking place at beach; river; trail; marina; and underwater locations.
The beach team and dive team meet at Bayfield Main Beach Parking Lot.
The marina team meets at Bayfield Marine Store.
The trail team meets at Bayfield River Flats.
The river team meets at The Docks parking lot.
Organizers ask you to please bring buckets, old reusable shopping bags, gloves and mugs (for coffee).
Free coffee is available at Bayfield Main Beach courtesy of Shopbike Coffee Roasters.
Sorting what is collected, and celebrating, takes place from 12 p.m. noon until 2 p.m. at Bayfield Marine Store.
Organizers ask you to please bring gloves.
There are ecological information booths and vendors and information on sustainability.
There is also coffee and snacks (bring your own mug) available at Bayfield Marine Store, courtesy Shopbike and the Municipality of Bluewater.
Keep Lake Huron Great
To protect and enhance Lake Huron, on Love Your Greats Day and every day of the year, you can:
- Add rain gardens, rain barrels, permeable pavement and other green infrastructure.
- Plant native species of plants and shrubs or donate to tree planting through programs like Footprints to Forests.
- Add wetlands or donate to wetland enhancements through your local conservation authority.
- Take litterless lunches to the beach, properly dispose of waste, and help clean up litter along Lake Huron.
- Use reusable water bottles and refill them at local water refill stations.
- Take other positive actions recommended in your local Watershed Report Card.
Share your stories, of positive Great Lakes action, by using #loveyourgreats or tagging @loveyourgreats on social media and visit loveyourgreats.com
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Municipality of Bluewater hosts Litter Clean-up event on August 10, 2024
People are invited to take part in the Litter Clean-up, at 20 Fisherman's Wharf Road in Bayfield, Ontario on Saturday, August 10, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
This event is hosted by the Municipality of Bluewater. It is in support of the goals of the Blue Flag program operated by Swim Drink Fish.
Trash bags and gloves will be provided.
You are asked to please wear brightly coloured clothing.
Refreshments will be available. Please practise safety around roadways and water.
To learn more, please contact the Municipality of Bluewater Recreation Co-Ordinator by phone at 519-280-0103 or by email at reccoordinator@municipalityofbluewater.ca
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Grey Sauble Conservation inspires local students to protect water, habitat as Watershed Guardians
Grey Sauble Conservation Authority (GSCA) is working to inspire school-aged children across its watershed to appreciate their natural environment and embed environmental stewardship into their lives, beginning at a young age. The GSCA is doing this through a new environmental education program called Watershed Guardians.
Fostering relationships with schools, teachers, and students, advocates for the important roles conservation authorities play in protecting and enhancing watershed resources in local communities. Experiential learning and educational programming empowers individuals with the ability to foresee the impact actions and decisions have on ecosystems.
GSCA will offer this new program starting in September 2024. Watershed Guardians focuses on water stewardship and highlights the Watershed Report Card, a key deliverable to their local communities. These report cards are delivered every five years and offer insight into the health of natural resources on a watershed basis. They score watershed health based on tree cover; water chemistry; Escherichia coli (E. coli); and benthic results in the Grey Sauble watershed.
Five watersheds make up the Grey Sauble jurisdiction: the Beaver, Bighead, Pottawatomi, Sauble, and Sydenham Rivers, along with several other lake fringe catchments.
Data in the Watershed Report Card help identify problems, target actions, and support scientifically based decision-making to preserve and improve local ecosystems.
The Watershed Guardians program will be the first of their new signature programs, designed to raise awareness and understanding of the importance of what conservation authorities do as organizations, and ways to enhance the health of these watersheds. It highlights various ways to conserve, restore, and protect these natural resources.
The program aligns with the Grade 4 and Grade 8 Science and Technology curriculum in Ontario. Concepts focus on assessing the impacts of human activities on habitats and communities; freshwater sustainability issues; local and global water systems; and the importance of water management and planning – to name but a few.
To help keep environmental education accessible, and to create as much awareness as possible, efforts are being made to subsidize costs for this programming. Grants and corporate funds will be sought to sponsor classes and individuals, by covering or reducing fees and associated busing costs. Environmental education is not a program that is funded through municipal levy (tax dollars), so every dollar raised, through grants and donations, also helps to cover the costs for the important staff that keep them running.
To learn more about educational initiatives at Grey Sauble, and how you can support them, visit the GSCA website’s education web page.
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Twelfth Annual Ipperwash Beach Cleanup is Saturday, September 7
It’s almost that time again! The 12th Annual Ipperwash Beach Cleanup is planned for Saturday, September 7, 2024 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
This annual volunteer event has been occurring the Saturday after Labour Day to celebrate the beach memories made over the summer and to remind us that our leisure activities can sometimes leave an impact on the environment.
After a busy summer (despite the consistent efforts of the local beach community), trash builds up on the beach and in the dunes.
If you are interested in participating in this volunteer event, please meet at the Centre Ipperwash Boat Launch on September 7th at 9 a.m.
St. Clair Region Conservation Authority (SCRCA) staff will be on hand with gloves, bags and hand sanitizer.
If you have garbage pickers or pails, feel free to bring them.
The organizers advise close-toed shoes, a hat, a reusable water bottle, and dressing for the weather.
St. Clair Region Conservation will have some snacks to refuel you.
This event is hosted with support from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks.
If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Jessica Van Zwol at jvanzwol@scrca.on.ca or Lisa McNeill at lmcneill@scrca.on.ca
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Plastic People documentary film, with Lake Huron footage, coming to Bayfield
Documentary film crew captured footage in Lake Huron area; Movie to have showing in Bayfield, along Lake Huron's southeast shore, in October 2024
Residents living along Lake Huron's southeast shore, including citizens from Bayfield and area and students from the South Huron area, are among the people who were interviewed for a new documentary about plastic pollution.
The documentary, Plastic People: The Hidden Crisis of Microplastics, is being shown at Bayfield Town Hall, along Lake Huron's southeast shore, on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at 7 p.m.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.
Tickets may be purchased at the Village Bookshop or reserved by contacting Ray Letheren by email at letherenray@gmail.com
Profits from this event will be donated to Bayfield Food Bank.
The film screening is hosted by Blue Bayfield.
A trailer for the documentary can be viewed on YouTube.
The Plastic People documentary website writes that:
"Almost every bit of plastic ever made breaks down into microplastics. These microscopic particles drift in the air, float in all bodies of water, and mix into the soil, becoming a permanent part of the environment. Now, leading scientists are finding these particles in our bodies: organs, blood, brain tissue, and even the placentas of new mothers. What is the impact of these invisible invaders on our health? And can anything be done about it?"
Owen Gleiberman, of Variety, writes that Plastic People is " ... one of those essential state-of-our-world documentaries.”
The documentary is produced by White Pine Pictures and it is directed by Ben Addelman.
The film had its world première showing, in March of 2024, in Austin, Texas at the South by Southwest (SXSW) 2024 film festival.
To find out more, please read the article from Blue Bayfield:
Learn more on the web page for Plastic People: The Hidden Crisis of Microplastics.
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Study area provides place to enjoy and learn about nature along Lake Huron's southeast shore
The Pine River Watershed is one of the priority areas along Lake Huron's southeast shore, in the Healthy Lake Huron Partnership's area, stretching from Sarnia to Tobermory.
The McLarty Environmental Study Area is located in the Pine River Watershed and it is open to the public to enjoy the great outdoors.
McLarty Environmental Study Area is located on Bruce Road 6/Side Road 20 in the Township of Huron-Kinloss.
This area is designed for the watershed community to learn about the Pine River; wetland creation; and the local wildlife and plants that this area supports.
The Pine River Watershed Initiative Network (PRWIN) has installed a trail system throughout the area, created two wetland ponds, planted memorial trees, an Osprey nest and planted more than one thousand tree seedlings.
The Network would like to give a special 'Thank you!' to Community Foundation Grey Bruce for supporting the PRWIN initiative Green Elements – Friends of the McLarty Centre. The funding supports new picnic tables to aid in the Network's program to educate about the Pine River Watershed with community groups and volunteers at the McLarty Centre.
The Pine River Watershed's McLarty Environmental Area has provided an enriching area for PRWIN's Horticultural Youth Group to meet each year.
The 30 children in the group, ages 6-14, look forward, each year, to the meetings held at the centre, according to Heather Newman, Leader of the Ripley and District Horticultural Society For Our Youth Club. They have had the opportunity to see and learn about our native species of flora and fauna. Hiking on the trail to identify plant and bird species and observing frogs are some of their favourite activities.
"As a leader of the youth group I really appreciate that we have access to such a wonderful area so close to home for our children to learn and explore," Heather said. "The Pine River Watershed has been an excellent support for the environmental and horticultural teaching that we do and we greatly appreciate that."
To learn more, visit the Pine River Watershed Initiative Network website or email PRWIN at pineriverwin@yahoo.ca
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Maitland Conservation working to restore fish habitat
Maitland Conservation has worked with local landowners to remove two private fish barriers and restore aquatic habitat. Both sites had online ponds which were restored to wetlands to improve water quality. Maitland Conservation also worked with community groups to undertake stream plantings and offered workshops highlighting the health of the nearshore environment and actions landowners can take to improve nearshore conditions.
This has been possible thanks to funding support from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Bruce Power, Maitland Conservation Foundation, and Huron County Clean Water Project.
If you are interested in learning more about these projects, phone Shannon Millar, Stewardship Restoration Supervisor, at 519-335-3557, extension 233, or email smillar@mvca.on.ca
100 per cent funding is available for projects in the Eighteen Mile and Northshore sub-watersheds as well as the Middle Maitland sub-watershed.
If you are interested in your own restoration project, please call Marisa Roefs, Stewardship Technician, at 519-335-3557, ext. 235 or email mroefs@mvca.on.ca
Environment and Climate Change Canada has recently completed a Nearshore Assessment of Lake Huron. The assessment identified the key stressors impacting the nearshore environment.
Maitland Conservation’s jurisdiction spans the whole section from Point Clark to Goderich and 12 kilometres of the northern section from Goderich to Kettle Point. Overall, this stretch of shoreline is under moderate stress, while the highest stressor is nuisance and harmful algae. This is caused by high nutrients that promote excessive algae and cyanobacteria growth, which interfere with ecosystem and human health along our beaches.
To learn more visit:
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Coastal Conservation Youth Corps works to protect Lake Huron
Youth make positive difference for Lake Huron through Lake Huron Coastal Centre’s Coastal Conservation Youth Corps
The Lake Huron Coastal Centre’s Coastal Conservation Youth Corps (CCYC) program wrapped up two fantastic weeks of hands-on environmental work along Saugeen Shores and Kincardine in July of 2024.
The program was packed with enthusiastic participants who were ready to make a difference, and they certainly did, according to the Coastal Centre.
The first week of activity, in the Town of Saugeen Shores, for the Coastal Conservation Youth Corps, was a whirlwind of activities.
The young people kicked things off at Eidt’s Grove, where they tackled the invasive Scots Pine.
The Town of Saugeen Shores provided support as the youths removed larger trees.
Next, the CCYC turned its attention to the dunes at Eidt’s Grove, removing the invasive Blue Lyme Grass.
Protecting these established and diverse sand dunes is crucial as they play a vital role in painting the health of beautiful beach ecosystems along Lake Huron, according to the Coastal Centre.
Restoration efforts continued at Gobles Grove, where the Youth Corps members planted various native species and worked to build the dune.
Sand dunes are essential, the Coastal Centre says, as they act as natural barriers, preventing sand from blowing onto roads and they make sure Lake Huron's beaches are sandy and pristine.
The CCYC work finished with a bike ride to Horseshoe Bay, where some participants suited up in hip waders and lifejackets to remove the invasive reed, called Phragmites, both from in the water and the shoreline.
In Kincardine, the work of the CCYC was focused on one restoration site at Station Beach. An eroding old pathway needed the help of these hard-working young people, so they transplanted American Beach Grass from established dunes to their site and planted more vegetation at the top of the dune to prevent further erosion.
The CCYC trip to Goderich was impactful as these young Lake Huron stewards worked on the dunes, removing invasive Sweet White Clover and planting Little Bluestem.
On the bluff at Sunset Park, the Youth Corps volunteers pulled more invasive plants and planted deep-rooting grasses and low growing shrubs to protect the slope from erosion.
The week finished with a beach cleanup where the CCYC made the disappointing discovery of nurdles. Nurdles are small plastic pellets the size of a lentil which are melted down and used to make our bigger plastic items like plastic bottles, toys, and grocery bags. Spillage while shipping can cause them to float onto our shorelines. It takes around 600 nurdles to make one small plastic disposable water bottle. We counted how many we could find in a minute, with one speedy picker collecting a record of 28 nurdles.
Although it was disappointing to find these plastic contaminants along Lake Huron, it was rewarding for the Youth Corps to collect and remove some of these plastic pollutants, knowing they were making a positive difference.
The CCYC program accomplished so much in two weeks, thanks to the hard work and dedication of participants and supporters.
Every action contributed to preserving the beauty and health of the coastal environment along Lake Huron’s southeast shore.
The Lake Huron Coastal Centre (LHCC) extends its heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported LHCC and the Coastal Conservation Youth Corps, making it possible to continue running the incredible program for the fifth year.
“Here’s to many more weeks of passion, learning and environmental stewardship with CCYC,” said Sielo Naranjo-Vargas, Environmental Technician with the Lake Huron Coastal Centre.
Learn more:
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