by Paige Jessup, Climate Resilience Intern

Shorelines are the interface between land and bodies of water that are important for both humans and wildlife. Shorelines facilitate the exchange of resources between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and therefore affect the functioning and ecological condition of both ecosystems (Wensink & Tiegs, 2016). Protecting our shorelines is vital to our lakes, fish and wildlife, as well as our economy.  

Furthermore, a natural shoreline consisting of native species of wildflowers, trees, grasses, and shrubs acts as a shoreline buffer to help reduce runoff by slowing surface water so it can reach the soil for proper filtration. By filtering rainwater, sequestering carbon, and cycling nutrients, soft shorelines reduce the amount of pollution and excess nutrients entering the freshwater body, keeping it safe and healthy (Smith et al., 2020). 

You can find many other webinars besides these five on our Freshwater Stewardship Community page. The webinars cover a widespread of topics and are free to watch and share at any time.

 

Webinar #1: “One Shoreland at a Time” with Chantal Lefevre

Watersheds Canada’s regional coordinator for The Natural Edge Program, Chantal Lefevre discusses the impacts of climate change on aquatic ecosystems and how nature-based solutions benefit and protect against erosion, pollution and provide food and shelter for wildlife. With the rise in global temperatures, we are seeing changes in weather patterns, increased flooding and droughts, rising sea levels, and decreased water quality. Because of this, we are seeing an increased risk of forest fires, food scarcity and community displacement, loss of biodiversity, and an increase in pests such as ticks. 

Nature-based solutions have proven to be one the most effective ways to protect against erosion and pollution, which includes planting and maintenance of vegetated shoreline buffers. In this webinar, Chantal goes over tips to building a resilient shoreland on your waterfront property. These tips will help you protect against erosion, manage stormwater runoff, and monitor for invasive species. She also guides you on creating a natural planting plan in order to have an effective plant buffer on your property that is aesthetically pleasing and allows you to enjoy your shoreline property. 

 

Webinar #2: “Planning Tools for Shoreline Protection: The Community Planning Permit System” with Melissa Markham

In this webinar, Melissa Markham of Marie Poirier Planning and Associates Inc., discusses appropriate land use planning tools for municipalities to protect their shorelines. Melissa starts by explaining the Planning Permit System, which is a planning tool that is given to us through the planning act and is used to help municipalities regulate land use in certain areas. Within the permit systems it includes site alteration and removal of vegetation as forms development.

In this webinar, the Lake of Bays official plan is an example of how the Planning Permit System works in a small municipality. The District of Muskoka started with a report on shoreline vegetated buffers, highlighting their importance. The official plan includes policies such as a minimum setback of development from the shoreline, and a minimum target for preservation and restoration of vegetated shorelines. 

 

Webinar #3: “From Rain to Root: Slowing shoreline erosion with storm water management techniques” with Rosmarie Lohnes

In this webinar, Rosmarie Lohnes of Helping Nature Heal Inc., teaches you how to create beautiful rain gardens and other techniques to manage stormwater on your property! The riparian zone, also known as the ribbon of life, is the corridor between the upland area and the shoreline. This area is used by 90% of wildlife at some point in their life, providing food and habitat for a wide range of aquatic and terrestrial species. This zone also helps maintain water levels, temperature, and erosion rates. An unhealthy shoreline lacks natural vegetation, allowing pollutants to runoff into the water. 

There are simple things you can do to prevent runoff on your waterfront property. These include curving pathways that lead to the water, avoiding mowing straight to the water edge, creating rain gardens around hardened surfaces, having a catchment where eavestroughs flow, and planting your shoreline. Learn more about these different techniques by watching Rosmarie’s webinar.

 

Webinar #4: “Flood Impact Maps: A standardized Approach of Understanding Vulnerable Landscapes” with Dr. Slobodan Simonovic

In this webinar, Dr. Slobodan Simonovic of The University of Western Ontario discusses a comprehensive study consisting of hydrodynamic flood modelling and statistical experiments that can be used to derive high-resolution Canada-wide floodplain maps for 100 and 200-yr return periods.

There is a documented correlation between climate change and global water levels. A warmer atmosphere has a higher capacity to store moisture, leading to more significant rain events. The objectives of this study were to develop the methodology for high resolution flood inundation analysis over large areas to find out the change in flood hazard and frequency across Canada, understand regional impacts using population density as a risk factor, and predicting how climate change will continue to impact humans. The study found a significant rise in flood inundation extents in the future periods, particularly intense over western and eastern regions. These results are communicated to the public through a user-friendly website where you can see the flood maps, all of which are discussed in this webinar. 

 

Webinar #5: “Planning for our Shorelands” with Christopher Dennison

In this webinar, Christopher Dennison of Watersheds Canada presents on the importance of lake and river shoreland ecosystems, shares results from a series of surveys which gauged the current state of shoreland stewardship and land-use in Ontario, and discusses the future of the Planning For our Shorelands program. Planning for our Shorelands is a collaborative project bringing together expert planners, scientists, and lake stewards from across Ontario. Its objective is to provide meaningful best-management practice resources and ‘shoreland networking’ opportunities for those who influence Ontario’s lakes and rivers. 

In the past few years especially, Ontario has experienced a rise in demand for waterfront properties. With this growth in population there is more unsustainable developments like vegetation removal and hardened landscapes happening which leads to poor water quality, loss of habitat, and loss of biodiversity. This is why the Planning for our Shorelines program was developed. It began with identifying the most significant barriers waterfront property owners were facing to ensure the needs and concerns of those using this program would be met. 

 

Free Education Resources:

• ”One Shoreland at a Time” webinar handout
• “From Rain to Root” webinar handout
• ”Flood Impact Maps” webinar handout

 

References

Smith, C. S., Rudd, M. E., Gittman, R. K., Melvin, E. C., Patterson, V. S., Renzi, J. J., Wellman, E. H., & Silliman, B. R. (2020). Coming to terms with living shorelines: A scoping review of novel restoration strategies for shoreline protection. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00434
Wensink, S. M., & Tiegs, S. D. (2016). Shoreline hardening alters freshwater shoreline ecosystems. Freshwater Science, 35(3), 764–777. https://doi.org/10.1086/687279