Field Notes: Restoring Shorelines Using Native Plants

Ian is an Environmental Technician this summer with Watersheds Canada. He shares his experience so far in the role:   "As a student coming out of college, I am more than pleased to work with Watersheds Canada. I began my journey with Watersheds as a field-placement in my program at Sir Sandford Fleming College, which turned into a summer position. I quickly realized all my skills and knowledge I learned from the Ecosystem Management Technician program were falling into place when it ... Read More

by Nathaniel Holloway, Environmental technician I am a second year Environmental Studies major at Carleton University who has experience volunteering—and now working—with Watersheds Canada. My volunteering experience made conservation feel more accessible than I had previously thought, while my work experience only cemented this notion. Being an Environmental Studies major, the focus of my degree is the Environment with a focus on legislation and problems facing different populations of ... Read More

by Ian Grist, Environmental technician If you are a property owner with a river, creek, or stream nearby, you may be concerned or curious about the health and pollution levels in the water. There are ways you can find out the contaminate levels present in your water by what aquatic organisms you observe. In particular, benthic macro-invertebrates are excellent bio-indicators of freshwater health. Macro-invertebrates do not have a backbone and are visible to the naked eye. They live on the ... Read More

by Nathaniel Holloway, Environmental technician From the point of view of a twenty-one year old student, the future seems uncertain. While I am an optimistic person, it is hard to ignore the constant flow of warnings from scientists. These warnings make me worry for the survival of our lifestyle and—much more importantly—future generations. However, humans have historically developed technology to meet demands which were previously thought insatiable (e.g., the green revolution which ... Read More

by Samantha Cunningham, Ecological technician Celebrated across Canada each fall, Terry Fox is a national icon. During the Marathon of Hope in 1980, Fox set out to run across Canada to raise awareness and money for cancer research. This cross-Canada journey took place over 143 days, 5,373 kilometres, and 6 provinces, leading Fox to run through 75 of Canada’s 1,382 sub-watersheds. These sub-watersheds were areas of land that caught falling precipitation, facilitating their drainage into nearby ... Read More

by Samantha Cunningham, Ecological technician While we think of snakes primarily as predators, they are both predators and prey! This makes them a key component of a healthy, balanced ecosystem. These slithery serpents help keep pest populations under control by eating insects, rodents, and small mammals. They are nature's pest control and they are particularly good at protecting gardens from slugs and other nuisances! Snakes are also preyed upon by birds and larger mammals.   Fun ... Read More

by Nathaniel Holloway, Environmental technician Plastic has become central to the way humans package, ship, and consume products. This includes everything from electronics, to medications, to baby toys. Plastic was—and still is in some contexts—considered a miracle product which is waterproof, hard-wearing, and easily malleable. However, we have allowed this material with a myriad of unknown adverse health effects to accumulate in Earth's oceans. While it may seem like an “out of sight, out ... Read More

Thanks to generous funding from the Government of Canada through the Canada Summer Jobs program, and funding through the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s Canadian Conservation Corps, Watersheds Canada is excited to welcome five new summer students to our team. These students will be integral in delivering our on-the-ground programming across Eastern Ontario. In particular, they will be helping with the Natural Edge shoreline re-naturalization program and the Love Your Lake stewardship and ... Read More

Will you be there for Canada’s freshwater this Rivers to Oceans Week? From wetlands, ground water and springs to creeks, streams, lakes, rivers and oceans, our water is connected through watersheds. Rivers to Oceans Week, celebrated from June 8 to 14th, recognizes this connectedness and reminds us that taking care of our water is a shared responsibility. We are so thankful to the many individuals who are dedicated to protecting Canada's freshwater areas. Many have you have participated in ... Read More

Spring has sprung! Watersheds Canada is excited to share some updates about our spring field season and how we are staying safe while still working hard to restore and enhance Canada’s freshwater areas. Shoreline property owners across Canada are participating in the Natural Edge Program. We work collaboratively with shoreline property owners to design their shoreline restoration plan using native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers. While physically distanced, landowners walk their shoreline ... Read More