UTRCA hosts London-Middlesex Children’s Water Festival  This May, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) hosted the London-Middlesex Children’s Water Festival. Over the four days of the festival, students in grades two through five came to Fanshawe Conservation Area for a fun and educational field trip to learn about the importance of water in their daily lives.   This year, we had record registration, with requests for over 11,000 students to [...]

Learning in and with Nature  How incredible to think that Fanshawe and Wildwood Education staff have been offering Nature School at the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) for three years now! The Nature School programs provide opportunities for participants to spend time in and with nature using the principles of Forest and Nature School. These principles, shared by staff that are trained Forest and Nature School Practitioners, focus on providing repeated outdoor [...]

UTRCA hosts Perth Children’s Water Festival  The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) Perth Children’s Water Festival provides a hands-on learning environment for families from Perth County to discover the importance of water in their lives and communities. It is a fun and educational event that focuses on learning about water based on five themes: Conservation, Protection, Science, Technology and Attitude.   After a successful inaugural Perth Children’s Water [...]

Rotary Club of St. Marys Tours Wildwood Dam  On May 15th, Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) staff hosted members of the Rotary Club of St. Marys for a tour of Wildwood Dam. Members were very impressed with the size of the structure, its function and the maintenance required to keep it operational. Many remembered the area before the dam was built and knew former landowners.  [...]

Collecting Climate Data to Predict Water Level Conditions The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority's (UTRCA) Water Information Management unit monitors many sources of climate and hydrometric (standardized water quantity and information) data in order to predict future water level conditions, including water levels, estimated discharge rates, rainfall rates and cumulative totals, snow depth and water equivalents (the amount of water required to consume the same amount of heat as [...]

Spring Tree Planting Season for 2023  The UTRCA forestry crew had another busy but successful tree planting season with 37, 544 trees planted and distributed. About 55 landowners took advantage of the UTRCA planting services to create windbreaks, buffers along water courses, and forests in the watershed. In addition to the crew’s efforts, another 150 landowners planted on their own to increase and restore natural ecosystems on their property. The weather [...]

Swimming Upstream!  There are now 375 more fish on fences in the north end of the watershed! This spring, students and staff from St. Joseph and St. Ambrose Catholic Schools in Stratford participated in the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA)’s Stream of Dreams program. Through science and art workshops, participants are reminded that their painted recycled, recyclable fish represent all living things and their need for clean water.   [...]

UTRCA hosts OMAFRA for a Field Tour  Last month, Stewardship staff hosted a field tour for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). The tour highlighted innovative projects, both past and current that have been fully funded or in part by OMAFRA. The first stop was at the Thorndale Demonstration Farm to showcase a suite of Best Management Practices such as contoured controlled drainage, aimed at [...]

UTRCA hosts OMAFRA for a Field Tour  Last month, Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) Stewardship Services staff hosted a field tour for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). The tour highlighted innovative projects, both past and current that have been fully funded or in part by OMAFRA. The first stop was at the Thorndale Demonstration Farm to showcase a suite of Best Management Practices [...]

Student Teachers Joined UTRCA Education Team this Spring We would like to say a big thank you to the student teachers who chose to complete their "non-traditional" placements with the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) this spring. Carly Felker, currently enrolled in Western University’s Faculty of Education, spent the month of April working with Fanshawe Education and Partnership staff. Carly helped with Stream of Dreams, Nature School, London-Middlesex [...]