2024 Field Surveying Season
2024 Field Surveying Season Borland Drain The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority's (UTRCA) 2024 field surveying season is nearing its end as winter arrives. Beginning in early June, the team of surveyors used high-accuracy GPS to gather over 30,000 elevation points for the flood modelling team to use in building flood models. GPS points were collected from bank to bank across more than 150 kilometres of creeks [...]
More Experiential Programming Coming to the Museum of Ontario Archaeology
More Experiential Programming Coming to the Museum of Ontario Archaeology The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) has recently partnered with the Museum of Ontario Archaeology (MOA) and Friends of Medway Creek thanks to funding from the City of London Community Grants Program! Over the next three years, the UTRCA and Friends of Medway Creek will work with the MOA to expand the interpretive programming offered at the museum by providing [...]
Creating Wetland Scrapes
Creating Wetland Scrapes Wetland scrapes are shallow ponds or temporary pools that are designed to hold rain and flood water seasonally, but become relatively dry for much of the year. Often created in floodplains or low areas with a high water table, they are constructed to mimic natural pools in open areas. They make a significant difference to wildlife, especially in agricultural areas, by providing breeding habitat for amphibians [...]
Phosphorus Professional Development Day
Phosphorus Professional Development Day Recap On October 23rd, Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) Education and Stewardship staff hosted a Phosphorus Professional Development Day at the Watershed Conservation Centre (WCC) and Thorndale Demonstration Farm. This event brought together Specialist High Skill Major (SHSM) leads, Learning Coordinators, and rural educators to focus on phosphorus-related issues impacting the Thames River watershed and Lake Erie. The day began at the WCC with [...]
Medway High School Students Stabilize Soil Along Medway Creek
Medway High School Students Stabilize Soil Along Medway Creek Medway High School students joined staff from the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) to help establish a woody streambank along a 150-metre section of Medway Creek thanks to the Canada Water Agency's EcoAction Community Funding Program. Using shrub willow, cut and shaped into live stakes, the students hammered over 200 cuttings directly into the eroded bank. Why Willow? Willow [...]
New Location for Christmas and Winter for the Animals Program
New Location for Christmas and Winter for the Animals Program Same program, new location! Our time-tested and much-beloved Christmas for the Animals and Winter for the Animals programs are ready to make some awesome new memories for hundreds of primary students this season. The former Children’s Safety Village is our new venue, but the wonderful activities remain the same! Kindergarten and Grade One students have the opportunity to see [...]
Caution Advised Near Watercourses as Warm Temperatures and Rain Elevate Water Levels (media release, December 9, 2024)
December 9, 2024 For Immediate Release Caution Advised Near Watercourses as Warm Temperatures and Rain Elevate Water Levels The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) is encouraging the public to be cautious around local watercourses as snow melts with warming temperatures. Banks adjacent to rivers and creeks are very slippery and, when combined with fast-moving cold water, pose a serious hazard. In addition to warmer weather, up to [...]
Warm Temperatures and Rain Causing Elevated Water Levels – Caution Advised near Watercourses (flood bulletin, December 9-13, 2024)
Warm Temperatures and Rain Causing Elevated Water Levels – Caution Advised near Watercourses Watershed Conditions Statement - Water Safety (2024 Flood Event 10, Bulletin 1) Issued December 9, 2024 at 1:30 pm; valid until December 13, 2024 at 12:00 pm The warmer temperatures that began yesterday are starting to melt the watershed-wide, low-density snowpack that was received over last week. The warmer weather is forecast to continue until late [...]
Wetlands Conservation Partner Program
Wetlands Conservation Partner Program The Upper Thames Conservation Authority (UTRCA) received funding from the Province of Ontario through the Wetlands Conservation Partner Program to conserve, restore, and improve wetlands in Ontario. This project aims to enhance and restore the functionality of nine hectares of wetland within the Upper Thames River watershed by removing invasive species and enhancing natural wetland features that have been impaired over time. In total, [...]
Funding Announcement: Thames River Phosphorus Reduction Program
Funding Announcement: Thames River Phosphorus Reduction Program On November 13, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) announced it is receiving $17.4 million in funding over four years from the Canada Water Agency to support the Thames River Phosphorus Reduction Program. This new initiative helps landowners implement agricultural best management practices (BMPs) that reduce phosphorus runoff, improving water quality in the Thames River and Lake Erie, while also boosting soil [...]