New Accessible Trail at Wildwood Conservation Area! (UTRCA weekly, August 12, 2022) Two years ago, forward-thinking Wildwood Conservation Area (CA) staff proposed creating an accessible trail within the park. This idea is now a reality, as the Green Trail has been overhauled with a surface that will allow barrier-free use. The Green Trail is a 1.1 kilometre loop through the Dr. Murray Forest east of Campground B, with parking [...]

Schoolyard Pollinator Gardens (UTRCA weekly, August 5, 2022) Fanshawe Community Education staff and Integrated Watershed Management unit staff have been busy as bees helping five Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) schools plant pollinator gardens in their schoolyards! Heeman’s, a local garden centre, grew and supplied a variety of beautiful native plants for the gardens including coneflowers, blanket flowers, bee balm, and stonecrop. The gardens will provide needed habitat [...]

UTRCA staff Monitoring for Spongy Moth (UTRCA weekly, July 29, 2022) In mid-June, Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) staff set up traps to monitor the population of Spongy Moth (formerly known as Gypsy Moth). Two traps were assembled in Fanshawe Conservation Area and four in Environmentally Significant Areas (ESAs) in London. The UTRCA is conducting the research in conjunction with the County of Middlesex and the Canadian Food [...]

Community Science in the summer (UTRCA Weekly, July 22, 2022) The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) invites you to get outside this summer and take part in the Community Nature Project! This project encourages people to make observations about the animals and plants they see in the Upper Thames River watershed – including in their own backyard - and log them at iNaturalist Canada. iNaturalist is an on-line [...]

Bugs tell the Water Quality story (UTRCA weekly, July 15, 2022) The spring benthic sampling season has come and gone, with many people not knowing it was happening or even what it is. Ontario’s Conservation Authorities monitor the health of watercourses in our watersheds in a number of ways, and one program involves sampling benthic macroinvertebrates – the “bugs” that live along the bottom of streams, rivers, and ponds. [...]

First GREENFest! Celebrates Students’ Hard Work (UTRCA weekly, July 8, 2022) GREEN Leaders classes from across the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) came to Fanshawe Conservation Area on May 24-27, to participate in GREENFest!, a weeklong event hosted by Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) Community Education and Partnerships staff. Start.ca sponsored the event and provided volunteers each day. Karlee Flear, Community Education Supervisor, explained the GREEN program: [...]

Tree Planting using Plastic Mulch at Irwin Farm (UTRCA weekly, June 24, 2022) Bill and Carrie Irwin recently had staff from the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) help them with planting trees on their farm property in Dorchester. The Irwin family has owned and operated the farm over three generations. The farm is certified organic and, after selling a neighbouring property, the Irwins had to establish a 25 [...]