KAGAWONG—Ideal spring weather conditions and community spirit made the perfect combination for a day of clean up, socializing and educational presentations.
In past years members of the Billings Recreation Committee (Anna Aelick, Stasia Carr, Carol Corneau, Charlene Chambers, Jim Chambers, Barbara Erskine, Jill Ferguson, Darren Hayden, Lisa Hayden, Sharon Jackson and Gail Los) had unfavourable weather in the form of either rain or snow to contend with which deterred people from participating (specifically in the ‘ditch diving’ activity).
Last year, the Committee’s Green Living Expo was very well received and will be held again next spring.
Members of the community, including the mayor himself, Austin Hunt, rolled up their sleeves, donned work gloves and took to the roadsides, trails and riverbanks to collect trash. It was brought back by the bag full to the Anglican Church where it was emptied onto a tarp and sorted by coach Chris Theijemeijer, chair of the Waste Management Committee.
One volunteer brought in a recycling bin and a clear garbage bag full of trash collected on the drive to the Park Centre from her home (a distance of approximately six kilometres). It consisted mainly of plastic water bottles, beer cans, snack food packages and pop cans.
The same person took a walk along Bridal Veil Falls hiking trail and was pleased to return to the sorting station virtually empty handed. The recycling bins located at the bottom of the stairs leading to the trail are obviously being used so far this season.
Another volunteer cleaned up around the small craft harbour where the annual smelt run takes place and handed in a number of beer cans.
Collecting trash along the roadsides and village was one of the two planned community projects for the day. The second was a rehabilitation of the public garden (green space) between the Park Centre and the Cedar Maze.
Volunteers raked, dug in the soil and pulled weeds, dead grass and branches throughout the morning. Clear trash bags were filled, loaded in utility trailers and hauled away. The improvement was both visually pleasing and encouraging. With a few flowers, a little TLC and maintenance, the public garden will flourish.
Guest speakers Nancy Kains of the Manitoulin Nature Club and Seija Deschenes, manager of Manitoulin Streams, filled the gathering room at the Anglican Church with residents (many of whom had spent the morning picking garbage, digging in the soil or volunteering in other ways).
projects that will take place from Bridal Veil Falls down to the river. The number of salmon spawning at the Falls last year, as shown in the photo, was very encouraging.
Ms. Erksine welcomed everyone to the church and thanked the volunteers for their hard work in improving the community by picking garbage and making improvements to the public garden area. “We still have more to do. It was a great day,” she shared.
The second part of the day, explained Ms. Erskine, is devoted to the “local care of our environment.”
Ms. Kains spoke of the upcoming BioBlitz taking place at Misery Bay Provincial Park on Saturday, May 30. A BioBlitz, explained Ms. Kains, is a citizen science-based biological inventory of a given area. Volunteers learn how to identify flora and fauna and find and document as many species as possible in a given time.
Ms. Kains admits she had “never heard of a bioblitz” until she read about it in the pages of Rural Voice, an agricultural magazine.
She was intrigued to read more about it as the event engages everyone from the “wee ones” to the “older ones.” Ms. Kains pitched the idea to the rest of the Nature Club members last fall and is pleased to say many highly recognized and respected university professors and others plan to attend.
The day will start at the park at 10 am where people will be divided into teams, tally sheet in hand, to record reptiles and amphibians they see in designated areas at the park. Volunteers are encouraged to bring cameras to take photos of the flora and fauna in their natural habitat.
People are asked to bring their own lunch, snacks and bottled water, sunscreen, bug repellent, hat, walking shoes and long pants.
Misery Bay Provincial Park has attracted attention regarding the Blanding’s turtles and experts will be on hand to update information on reptile and amphibian diversity.
“Biological diversity is what connects us—we are all connected and the system created is what provides benefits for us and the whole world,” Ms. Kains said.
Volunteers are encouraged to sign up by contacting Ms. Kains at 705-377-6041 or send an email to isleaway@amtelecom.net for more information.
A short break to enjoy a dessert social was hosted by members of the Recreation Committee led by Ms. Erskine who invited everyone to enjoy the desserts and also gave the option of taking some special treats (including cheesecake, carrot cake and brownies) home.
Funds raised will go towards future green living events hosted by the committee volunteers.
Seija Deschenes, co-ordinator with Manitoulin Streams who spent part of her day helping clean up the public garden green space, greeted those in attendance and spoke about the upcoming projects that will take place in Kagawong later this month.
“Engineers went up and down the streams in and around the Kagawong River,” stated Ms. Deschenes. They looked for access for fish, spawning habitat and areas for improvement.
“It’s all about partnerships,” shared Ms. Deschenes. “That’s how it’s been successful. Two of a long list of corporate sponsors and partners include Laurentian University and College Boreal.”
Twenty-two sites were identified with three being chosen in Kagawong, stated Ms. Deschenes, all located between Bridal Veil Falls and the Kagawong River, which is prime spawning habitat for salmon.
When asked what the time line is from start to finish for the projects, everyone was surprised when Ms. Deschenes said it would be two weeks at the most.
It is important that no “in water work” takes place between June 16 and August 31 so the natural habitat is not disturbed or impacted.
An engineer, shared Ms. Deschenes, will visit throughout each phase of construction.
Boulders, root wads, planting of native trees and shrubs, wing deflectors and spawning gravel are just some of the construction that will take place.
It is hoped that the project will see the hiking trail closed only for a short period of time in order for the crew to do their work. Stay tuned to the local papers and Manitoulin Streams’ Facebook page for more details.
For more information on this and many other projects, or how you can volunteer your time or make a donation, visit www.manitoulinstreams.com
Sophie Edwards of 4elements Living Arts, who volunteered her time during the day to prune trees at the Park Centre, made an announcement following Ms. Deschenes presentation regarding funding from the Canada Council of the Arts’ ‘Life of the Stream’ project. This funding will go towards the design and creation of a permanent sculpture by artist Michael Belmore of Thunder Bay, to be part of the construction phase of the Manitoulin Streams project.
Ms. Erskine thanked everyone for attending and thanked the speakers for “providing great information.”
Fellow Recreation Committee member Ms. Chambers also thanked the volunteers for their hard work during the day and encouraged them to keep the momentum going in regards to the work started at the public garden space between the Park Centre and Cedar Maze.
The day wound down at 7 pm with 4elements Living Arts hosting a viewing of ‘Watermark,’ a documentary film by Edward Burtnysky.
