Sunrise Ceremony on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: September 30, 2025   To mark September 30, 2025, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation - a day to honour and remember Survivors of residential schools and the children who never returned home - the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) worked with members of Oxford County's Indigenous community and their allies to organize a Sunrise Ceremony in the [...]

TD Tree Days Planting at Chippewas of the Thames First Nations   On September 25, 2025, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) supported a tree planting generously funded by TD Friends of the Environment Fund.   Student volunteers from the University of Western’s Masters in Environmental Studies program joined community members to help with the planting, which took place on a naturalized tall grass prairie site near the river.    After [...]

Autumn Clean- Up: Protecting Source Water While Prepping for Winter  As the leaves begin to fall and the days grow shorter, many of us turn our attention to autumn clean-ups around our homes and properties. While raking, pruning, and tidying are all part of preparing for winter, it’s also a perfect time to think about how these seasonal activities can impact our local drinking water sources. Thames-Sydenham Source Protection [...]

Collecting Climate Data The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority's (UTRCA) Water Information Management unit monitors many sources of climate and hydrometric data in order to predict water level conditions. Data can include levels, estimated discharge rates, rainfall rates and cumulative totals, snow depth, and snow water equivalents. The UTRCA maintains six climate stations across their network as well as 21 rainfall rate precipitation gauges scattered across the watershed.   [...]

Seed Collection Program  Our Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) Forestry staff have been hard at work sorting through a variety of seeds collected from a variety of public and private lands throughout the watershed. Each tiny seed holds the potential to grow into a strong native tree that will support healthier forests and ecosystems for generations to come. Our team carefully forecasts when trees will produce mature, high-quality [...]

Fall Tree Powers Complete The watershed is getting greener! Thanks to everyone who purchased and picked up trees from our fall Tree Power programs - including residents of the Township of Perth South, Town of St. Marys and Township of Lucan Biddulph! This popular program provides watershed residents with affordable native hardwood trees through partnerships with Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) municipalities and sponsors.     Perth South Tree [...]