It was a rainy, snowy, and cold finish for the Natural Edge team in the Muskrat watershed. November 2020 marked a bittersweet moment as the team finished their three-year project to restore agricultural buffer zones in the region. The team is grateful to all the property owners and community partners who made this project such a success, especially with the group restrictions this past year.
Photo One: Students from Algonquin College’s Outdoor Adventure Naturalist work with Watersheds Canada staff to plant on an agricultural site in the Muskrat watershed.
Over three consecutive years, the Natural Edge program has planted 45,000 native trees and shrubs along agricultural stream banks and shorelines in the Muskrat watershed. These plant species will remediate current water quality issues including sedimentation and nutrient loading from agricultural properties lacking critical vegetative buffers.
Photo two: Student planting in the Muskrat watershed. Photo courtesy of Algonquin College.
This project was possible because of support from Muskrat Watershed Council, Algonquin College Waterfront Campus, LUSH Cosmetics, Whitewater Brewing Co., Ontario Trillium Foundation, Algonquin College’s Office of Applied Research, and many local partners and volunteers. This work is critical in protecting the water quality in the Muskrat watershed for years to come.