Watersheds Canada’s holiday gift guide – 5 perfect gifts for everyone on your list

by Monica Seidel, Digital Communications and Marketing Intern Cooler temperatures and snow means it is time to start looking for the perfect gifts to wrap under the tree! With this gift guide, you will find unique and meaningful gifts that protect Canada’s lakes, rivers, and shorelines. “Water” you waiting for? Check out these perfect gifts! Symbolic Adoptions Perfect for: Anyone who loves Canada’s beautiful shorelines and waterbodies Six symbolic adoptions are now available ... Read More

by Monica Seidel, Digital Communications and Marketing Intern Al Best is the President of Carson, Trout, Lepine and Greenan Lakes Association, and has participated in Watersheds Canada's Love Your Lake program and Natural Edge program. Al was a strong advocate on his lake association to having the Love Your Lake program come in and provide free shoreline assessments to all property owners on the lake, and has chosen to participate in the Natural Edge program individually on his ... Read More

by Monica Seidel, Digital Communications and Marketing Intern Because of support for generous granting programs and individual givers, Watersheds Canada is able to offer people like Jane an opportunity to naturalize her shoreline at a reduced cost. Jane was a Natural Edge participant in September 2014, and first contacted Watersheds Canada with concerns about erosion along her shoreline. As we walked the shoreline together, Jane told us about her reservations for losing her shoreline view, ... Read More

by Monica Seidel, Digital Communications and Marketing Intern Judy Hall, a President of the Dalhousie Lake Association, sat down to talk about the importance of engagement and a sense of community when it comes to the long-term health of lake associations and the waters they care for. Answers have been edited for clarity and length. Q: How did you become interested in Dalhousie Lake and the lake association? A: I have been around the lake all my life and now have become very ... Read More

by Monica Seidel, Digital Communications and Marketing Intern Growing up, many of us would have welcomed the idea of sleeping in and missing school. Perhaps there was an early morning class or teacher you were not fond of, or you had to trek through the cold to get to school. If someone had offered you the option to simply sleep through half of the year, bypassing the cold and school year, would you have done it? How would you have been able to survive sleeping that long? While they are ... Read More

by Monica Seidel, Digital Communications and Marketing Intern Canada is home to thousands of water bodies that are home to every sort of creature – fish, turtles, invertebrates, frogs, herons, beavers, and dragonflies, to name a few. Over 90% of all lake life is somehow connected to the shoreline as it provides habitat, food, and a place to raise young. Dragonflies are a common sight at many wetlands, rivers, and lakes, however, there is much more to them than their big eyes and beautiful ... Read More

by Abbey Unsworth, Summer Student - Natural Edge and Love Your Lake Canada has recently announced a ban on single-use plastics as part of a strategy to combat plastic pollution. The ban is set to take effect by 2021 and will most likely include items such as plastic bags, straws, cutlery, and take-out containers, but the specifics have not yet been determined. The strategy also focuses on companies that manufacture or sell plastic products, putting a responsibility on them for the management ... Read More

My father and I have had a friendly debate going for a number of years regarding the name of a particular sport fish. And as my career in fish habitat restoration has established, I am finding this is common debate amongst many Ontario outdoors people. As a long time fisherman, my father has always referred to the common fish species Sander vitreus as a pickerel, and when I was younger, who was I to argue with him. Growing up my father instilled in me, my love for the outdoors, from many hikes ... Read More

Written By: Melissa Dakers, 2018 Walleye Spawning - “I Spy with My Little Eye!” After a long winter, the signs of spring are finally upon us, although a little delayed. Spring is a time for renewal, and as the ice leaves the lakes, water temperatures warm, frogs begin to sing, the walleye begin their annual spawn. It is a small one to two week window but if you are in the right place at the right time, it is an incredible sight. Walleye spawn in both river rapids and lake shoals, and ... Read More

Written by: Barbara King, 2018 Collaboration Best Practices from Watersheds Canada’s Experience In working in the environmental sector, especially where there are so many different groups, agencies, and organizations working on various issues, collaboration is critical to finding solutions to big picture problems that are currently taking place in our country.  Working in collaboration has many benefits but also poses some challenges. The National Survey of Nonprofit and Voluntary ... Read More