Reclaiming our Refuse: The Power of Community Shoreline Cleanups

by Ty Fischer, Riparian Health Restoration Intern In many ways, the shorelines of our lakes and rivers provide windows into the health of the freshwater systems themselves. For instance, lakes and rivers with dense vegetative buffers on their shorelines are more likely to have better water quality and healthier aquatic plant and animal communities, as opposed to those with barren shorelines that are more likely to suffer from increased toxin and nutrient input from runoff, high sediment ... Read More

by Samantha Cunningham, Ecological technician Landscaping your property can be as simple or as complex as you need. Landscaping is a diverse science, meaning that there are many different directions you can research, so we are going to focus on the sub-discipline of landscape engineering. For us this entails assessing what the current state of the property is and seeing where we can improve. Today’s target? Managing runoff on shoreline properties. Through this blog we will walk through ... Read More

by Andres Clavier, Freshwater Stewardship Education Intern Road salts, a common winter ally for icy streets, have profound ecological impacts as the melted snow and ice wash these salts away. What role, if any, do natural buffers of vegetation along shorelines provide in protecting waterbodies against this alarming pollution? A natural buffer predominantly comprises vegetation like trees, shrubs, and grasses placed along water body edges. These buffers play a pivotal role in maintaining ... Read More

by Andres Clavier, Freshwater Stewardship Education Intern In cold climates, icy roads have traditionally been navigable thanks to road salts. As environmental awareness grows, so does the quest for more ecologically kind alternatives. Although a multitude of alternatives have been tested, finding a universally accepted replacement has remained a challenge. In this blog, we will summarize some of the alternatives that are being tested and used around the world, and discuss some of their ... Read More

by Andres Clavier, Freshwater Stewardship Education Intern The environmental repercussions of excessive road salt application have instigated numerous research and policy endeavours. One significant contribution in this area is the "Code of Practice for the Environmental Management of Road Salts" developed by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). This post delineates the salient practices endorsed by this code for salt authorities, emphasizing the reduction of salt-induced ... Read More

by Andres Clavier, Freshwater Stewardship Education Intern With the widespread use of road salts in countries to combat winter's icy conditions, our freshwater ecosystems are increasing in salinity which is hazardous for our ecosystems. This is especially true for salt vulnerable areas.  What is a Salt Vulnerable Area? A salt vulnerable area refers to freshwater sources, primarily lakes and rivers, that are particularly susceptible to contamination from road salts (Environment Canada, ... Read More

by Andres Clavier, Freshwater Stewardship Education Intern Recent research has highlighted concerning news: there has been a pronounced escalation in the salinization of our freshwater bodies over the past twenty years. If this trend continues, many Canadian lakes will reach critical levels in the next 40 years. Elevated salt concentrations can severely impair aquatic flora, lead to widespread fish deaths, and turn these freshwater zones inhabitable for many species. The implications extend ... Read More

by Ty Fischer, Riparian Health Restoration Intern In conservation biology, the term “charismatic megafauna” refers to the largest and most iconic species of animal, such as wolves and grizzly bears, for which threats to their population status attract a disproportionate amount of the public’s attention (Krause, Robinson, 2017).  Historically, these species were the core focus of conservation efforts because the ubiquitous appreciation for them could be used as a driving force to motivate ... Read More