Stewardship

The West Lake Aquatic Vegetation Report is now available.

To read the full report click this link The West Lake Aquatic Vegetation Report

In 2023 the West Lake Community Association was selected to receive an Invasive Species Action Fund (ISAF) Grant of $2,000 from the Invasive Species Centre

This Fund is supported by an investment from the MNRF (read the full media release here https://www.invasivespeciescentre.ca/ipbes-invasive-alien-species-assessment/)

The West Lake Community Association wants your old car, truck or farm vehicles!

The WLCA is looking for any County residents willing to let their old clunkers and junkers be recycled —For free! That’s right. You can get rid of that ol’ eyesore and reclaim that piece of your yard, or free up another spot in your garage all for the cost of free.

At no cost to you, the WLCA will schedule, remove, tow and recycle your old vehicle scraps —even if it doesn’t work any more.

Help beautify your neighbourhood, tackle your to do list, support the WLCA and get a free membership in return, all at the same time!

To schedule a removal (or if you wish to learn more), please email Charlie Graham – charlesgraham11@icloud.com or call +1.705.665.4860.

The County's Sustainability website

The West Lake Community Association is now listed on the County's Sustainability website on the Resource page.

From Rain to Root: Slowing Shoreline Erosion With Storm Water Management Techniques

The Freshwater Stewardship Community's first webinar of 2022!

Thank you to Rosmarie Lohnes for sharing her expertise and knowledge regarding the importance of storm water management techniques and using native plants.

You can now watch Rosmarie's full presentation here:

The Ghost of Phosphorus Past: How decades of phosphorus use is shaping today’s water quality in North America

Thank you for joining us for the Freshwater Stewardship Community's fourth webinar of 2022! Thank you to Lamisa Malik for sharing her research about legacy phosphorus and the steps that can be taken to address this complex issue.

You can now watch Lamisa's full presentation on our YouTube channel. Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up-to-date on all of our webinars, behind-the-scenes program updates, and more!

If you haven't already, we would greatly appreciate you taking a few minutes to fill in our anonymous evaluation survey: https://forms.gle/5nroASBa47J9i19eA. Your feedback helps us choose future topics and speakers, and helps us show funders the importance of the Freshwater Stewardship Community.

Follow-up information:

The new handout created by Lamisa Malik and Watersheds Canada is now available for download on Watersheds Canada's website (scroll down under "Education Resources"). This handout is a great summary of key points from Lamisa's presentation - we encourage you to share it on your social media, on your community group's website, or with your neighbours and colleagues!
If you have any additional questions for Lamisa, you can email her: lamisa.malik@uwaterloo.ca
Re-naturalize your shoreline or upstream property! Use Watersheds Canada's free, Canada-wide Natural Edge Native Plant Database to see what native plants are best suited for where you live and what type of soil, sunlight, and moisture levels you have on your property.
If you are looking to add native plants to your property, we recommend checking out some of the free resources found on Watersheds Canada's website. Here you will find a Shoreline Habitat Creation Manual, Native Plant Care Guide, Wildflower Garden Guide, and Lake Links Planning Committee's Lake Protection Workbook, all of which are available for free download.

Pugnose Shiner Landowner Engagement and Shoreline Habitat Restoration Project

View the PowerPoint slide deck presented to the WCLA on February 28th, 2022.
Don't forget to put your sound on.

UPDATE - to see the interview Cathy did with Monica from Watersheds Canada, click on the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2YiB1YuZKk

The WLCA’s Stewardship efforts began in 2020 to improve the water quality of the Lake, help maintain the natural habitat of the Wetlands which is

home to a number of Species at Risk and Endangered Species such as the Blandings (Blanding’s) Turtle, Pugnose Shiner, Bald Eagles, the Black Tern,

Short-eared Owl, King Rail, Least Bittern, Red-Headed Woodpecker and Whip-Poor-Will.

Read the Proposed Recovery Strategy for Pugnose Shiner

Volunteers from our community are participating in stewardship programmes to help slow down the shoreline erosion all around West Lake, and

gather data to create a baseline for the overall health of the Lake.

An Aquatic Vegetation Survey is being carried out on West Lake by a team from Quinte Conservation. The purpose is to collect baseline data on the specific vegetation community, the presence of invasive species and determine the need for education, control and monitoring of West Lake.

Volunteers from the West Lake community are working together with Quinte Conservation and Watersheds Canada utilizing community-based water monitoring programmes (Water Rangers and Lake Partner), along with other programmes made available through funding that these organizations recently received from DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) supporting the Habitat Stewardship Programme for Aquatic Species at Risk. East Lake, West Lake and Wellers Bay are the fortunate recipients in 2021. It begins with the Love Your Lake Programme on West Lake.

Read the Watershed Report Card for Quinte 2018

“The Butterflyway Project is a volunteer-led movement that is growing habitat for bees and butterflies in neighbourhoods throughout Canada.

https://davidsuzuki.org/take-action/act-locally/butterflyway/

Wild pollinators such as butterflies and bees are crucial to human survival. Climate change, development and widespread pesticide use are compromising their habitat and food sources. The Butterflyway Project aims to help people step up efforts to help pollinators find food and shelter.”

"The Butterflyway Project is based on our Homegrown National Park Project, an award-winning initiative project that created butterfly-friendly corridors in three Toronto neighbourhoods. In 2020, the Butterflyway Project received the Canadian Museum of Nature’s 2020 Nature Inspiration Award!"

West Lake Wetlands ~ A Provincially Protected Area of Importance – Prince Edward County is blessed with many Wetlands in a variety of shapes and sizes. They provide a number of benefits to residents and visitors alike, including to the fish, wildlife and waterfowl that call this area home.

A bit about the vital importance of a healthy Wetlands ~ They are so unique and valuable because they are natural filters that improve water quality, and remove many contaminants such as phosphorus and nitrogen. In Prince Edward County some, like the West Lake Wetlands, are connected by water pathways to underlying groundwater – with water moving into the ground from the Wetland (recharge) or moving out of the ground into the Wetland (discharge). In this way, those Wetlands perform a vital function as ‘guardians of groundwater’, protecting both its quality and quantity of water. This is especially important given that the rural residents and farmers in this special and unique area of West Lake have limited potable water supplies.

* With permission to reprint excerpt obtained from source - Ducks Unlimited “Prince Edward County Wetlands – Great for Water, Wildlife, and Wandering!”

Adopt-A-Pond Wetland Conservation Program

At the Toronto Zoo’s Adopt-A-Pond Wetland Conservation Program, we work to design and deliver impactful conservation-focused research, restoration, and outreach that highlights the importance of saving Canada’s sensitive wetland species and their habitats.

Here is the link to our website: https://www.torontozoo.com/adoptapond/

Here is information on Turtle Tally and FrogWatch Ontario

https://www.torontozoo.com/adoptapond/citizenscience

Here are iNaturalist links:

Sightings of snakes in the West Lake area
Sightings of turtles in the West Lake area
Sightings of frogs and toads in the West Lake area
Sightings of salamanders in the West Lake area

Here is information on how species at risk are classified and protected in Ontario:

https://www.ontario.ca/page/how-species-risk-are-protected

South Shore Joint Initiative Presents: Invasive Species Webinar Recording

Did you miss Amanda Tracey from Nature Conservancy Canada talking about Invasive Species in the South Shore?

We’ve got you covered!

If you would like to watch it again, you can find it on our new South Shore Joint Initiative YouTube channel .

Click here to watch.

Cycling Master Plan

Our community has been voicing our concerns about the safety issue of trying ride on our roads for about a year. Looks like good news IF MTO funds the paved shoulders.

Click here to read the proposal.