Great Lakes Challenge Update: December 2017

In November we took part in the autumn meeting of the Redside Dace Recovery Team at Kelso Conservation area near Milton. This was the first opportunity for many of the team members to review our brand new educational material.

Red, the redside dace cartoon from Kidoons, made his debut to rave reviews. Stay tuned for more information as we prepare for the official launch this winter.

Also,  last month we were honoured to accept the 2017 Partnership Award from Ontario Streams on behalf of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation. Thanks to the generosity of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, work to restore redside dace habitat in the Greater Toronto Area took a huge step forward this year. We are proud to partner with them on this vital work. 

This year alone Ontario Streams was able to rehabilitate 12,260m of stream and 7.356ha of land; plant 958 native shrubs and 385 willow plugs over 0.5ha of land; build 20 in stream structures at a length of over 313m; remove 27 debris jams; as well as remove 200 bags of garbage, 7 bags of recycling, 13 shopping carts, 2 large signs, 2 tires and 2 bicycles. All of this with the help of 175 volunteers contributing over 700 volunteer hours. Great work! 

As the restoration season draws to a close we are gearing up our Watermark collection surrounding these amazing projects. In an effort to chart the monumental change that these projects will affect we are looking for stories from individuals who have experienced Breakwater Park and Terra Cotta Conservation Area. If you have a story to tell please contact Matt Chisholm with our Watermark Project, mattc@swimdrinkfish.ca. 

Stay tuned for more details about exciting collection events in early 2018. Check out www.GreatLakesChallenge.ca for more information.