Ausable Bayfield Conservation announces added Summer Nature Day Camps for July, August
Three more weeks of day camps provide more active outdoor nature, education experiences for local young people
Ausable Bayfield Conservation has added three more weeks to their Summer Nature Day Camp schedule.
The three new weeks of day camps are: July 24-28, for ages 6-9; July 31-August 4, for ages 8-12; and August 21-25, for ages 6-10.
Nature day camps on July 10-14 and July 17-21 are already fully booked due to public interest, according to Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA).
Jennifer Cade is leading the camps. Families enjoy the fact campers are active in an outdoors setting while being challenged to ask questions and discover and learn about the world around them, she said. She said the day camps are ideal for young people who love being outdoors, who enjoy hiking and exploring, and who want to learn about nature.
Nature Camp runs daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Morrison Dam Conservation Area east of Exeter.
To register for the day camps, visit the Summer Nature Day Camps web page at abca.ca
Registrants are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until the maximum number of campers is reached.
To find out more email OutdoorEd@abca.ca or phone 519-235-2610 or toll-free 1-888-286-2610.
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Let's Talk Soil
Rick Kootstra, Mari Veliz speak about soil health and water quality links at Huronview Demo Farm
Local agricultural producer Rick Kootstra, and Mari Veliz, Healthy Watersheds Manager with Ausable Bayfield Conservation, are teaming up for Let's Talk Soil to speak about Linking Soil Health and Water Quality.
The talk takes place on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Huronview Demonstration Farm, near Clinton, at 77722 London Road, behind the Huron Perth Public Health complex.
You are invited to join Rick Kootstra @RicksZone, board member of Huron County Soil and Crop Improvement Association (HSCIA) and Mari Veliz, Healthy Watersheds Manager at Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA), to tour the Huronview Demo Farm and learn about the important connections between soil health and water quality and tour the work being done at Huronview.
Join Rick and Mari to discuss soil health and water quality.
Register now:
The event is hosted by Ontario Soil Network.
#LetsTalkSoil #OntAg
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Father's Day Fishing Weekend June 17-18 and Family Fishing Week July 1-9
Four times a year, Canadian residents can fish in Ontario for free. This means you do not need to buy a fishing licence if you want to fish during four designated periods including Father’s Day Weekend (June 17-18, 2023) and Family Fishing Week (July 1-9, 2023).
Learn more on this Province of Ontario web page:
Watch the Fishing 101 video with Davin Heinbuck.
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Pollinator Week June 19-25, 2023
Pollinator Week 2023 in Canada is June 19-25. Learn about the role cover crops can play in improving pollinator health. Watch this video, Cover Crops and Pollinators, with Ausable Bayfield Conservation's Ross Wilson.
#PollinatorWeek
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Our Earth, My Responsibility.
GAIA is touring artwork by artist Luke Jerram, of the United Kingdom.
This exhibit, in Exeter, Ontario, by the Huron Waves Music Festival, continues until July 3, 2023.
Find out more and visit Huron Waves.
This slowly-revolving balloon measures six metres (20 feet) in diameter and is created from detailed photos of the Earth’s surface shot from NASA missions.
GAIA shows how beautiful our blue and green planet is. What action will we take to protect it with local action?
Ausable Bayfield Conservation staff have been providing soil health demonstrations at the 'What Now?' environmental village on June 3 and 10.
Our staff, and the soil health and water quality display, return to the environmental village again on June 24.
Visit us on June 24
The What Now? environment village is on Baldwin Street, beside Trivitt Memorial Anglican Church (264 Main Street South) in Exeter, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 24, 2023.
As part of the 'What Now?' village, we are tasked with translating inspiration into personal action.
How can you and I clean water? How can you and I enhance habitat for diverse species? How can you and I adapt to, and mitigate, extreme weather and a changing climate?
The 'What Now?' environment village features a giant floor map, as seen from space, on Baldwin Street, during the environmental village.
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Calling for volunteers to help plant 1,000 native plants at Triebner Tract
Part of Triebner Tract, located northwest of Exeter, is provincially significant wetland; Volunteers to help plant 1,000 plants on June 29, 2023
Volunteers wanted! That’s according to Ausable Bayfield Conservation. The conservation authority is seeking volunteers to help plant 1,000 native-species plants at Triebner Tract, northwest of Exeter.
This community planting event is to take place on Thursday, June 29, 2023 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Planting is to take place along the corridor and around the newly restored wetlands at the property.
Part of Triebner Tract is designated as Provincially Significant Wetland. The 100-acre Triebner Tract property is adjacent to the Hay Swamp Wetland Complex.
Rosalind Chang is Healthy Watersheds Technician with Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA). She calls this tree planting event “hands-on fun” and a way to make a difference with local action.
To volunteer or to find out more, contact Rosalind Chang at rchang@abca.ca or phone 519-235-2610 or toll-free 1-888-286-2610, extension 226. The organizers ask volunteers to meet at the southwest corner of MacDonald Road and Bells Line (about five minutes northwest of Exeter).
We will provide trowels and plants for the planting event but we ask volunteers to bring your own trowels and gloves if you have them and to dress for the weather with appropriate footwear for planting.
We invite secondary school students to bring their volunteer-hour sheets.
This community planting event is possible thanks to Huron County Clean Water Project; Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation; and Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority along with community volunteers.
To learn more visit the Ausable Bayfield Conservation website at abca.ca
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Cover crops improve soil health, protect water
Cover crops are planted before the main crop is planted and after it is harvested. They help to protect water quality and build soil health. They reduce the loss of nutrients and topsoil. They reduce wind and water erosion and the speed of water running off of land during storms.
There are grants to help support cover crop planting.
Apply now or find out more:
Check out our new, interactive cover crop map.
Find out, using our interactive map, which watershed you're in and grants that may be available to help you plant cover crops.
If you have questions, feel free to contact Ausable Bayfield Conservation staff.
Email Brooklyn Rau or call 519-235-2610 or toll-free, extension 261.
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Watch the road!
Turtle nesting season is here.
Turtles are looking for the right place to lay their eggs, in sandy and gravel areas, and they may be crossing roads.
This puts mother turtles in danger.
Don't disturb turtles actively digging or nesting.
If you see a turtle crossing the road, move them in the direction they were facing, if it is safe to do so.
Learn more:
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Be Water Wise
Each Wednesday, until July 5, 2023, our drinking water source protection staff are sharing public posts on social media to educate about being water-wise and using best practices in all areas to protect all drinking water sources.
To learn more, check out our new Water Wise best practices source protection web page for the Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Region.
Some homes, schools, churches and halls don't have a municipal drinking water source. They still need protection.
Look for alternatives to pesticides. Help to keep pesticides out of private wells, private well systems, and municipal wells.
Keep fertilizers out of drinking water whether the source is municipal or a private well or system. Look for alternatives.
If you use manure, keep it away from the water source. Use 4Rs (Right source, right rate, right time, right place).
Keep your septic system maintained properly.
Do you have a private well or well system? Activities near your water supply can impact water quality. Create your own groundwater protection zone around your well. This will help you identify and manage risks:
#WaterWednesday #WaterWise #BestPractices
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The photo above shows the damage invasive Phragmites (European Common Reed) can incur on a water body. Diversity is lost when native plants are out-competed, resulting in less habitat for native species of plants and animals.
Managing Phragmites and other invasive species
Thanks to all the residents who are helping to plant and protect native species and who help to take proper steps to manage and prevent the growth of, and encourage the removal of, invasive species.
To learn about managing invasive Phragmites (European Common Reed) visit our Phragmites Management web page.
To learn about this and other invasive species, visit the Friends of the Old Ausable Channel's invasive species web page.
Also, check out the iNaturalist page on Invasive Species in Ontario and be an active citizen scientist, sharing your knowledge of invasive species here:
If you find Eurasian water-milfoil or another suspected invasive species in the wild, please contact the toll-free Invading Species Hotline at 1-800-563-7711, visit EDDMapS Ontario, or search for the ‘Invasive Species in Ontario’ project on iNaturalist.org to report a sighting.
To learn more about invasive species and how to identify them, go to invadingspecies.com.
This photo shows invasive Eurasian Water-milfoil, a plant native to Eurasia and North Africa. First discovered in Lake Erie in 1961, Eurasian Water-milfoil has spread to all of the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River, many inland lakes throughout southern and central Ontario, and much of the United States. It can now be found across every continent, except Antarctica. It has also become the dominant vegetation in the northern part of the Old Ausable Channel.
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