Saturated Buffer to Protect Water Quality (UTRCA Weekly, September 17, 2021) One of the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority’s (UTRCA) strategic Environmental Targets is to establish and restore 1,500 hectares of natural vegetation cover, windbreaks, and buffers by 2037. To achieve this, staff work with landowners to target marginal lands, stream buffers, vulnerable farm fields, and other areas. Earlier this summer, the UTRCA installed a saturated buffer to protect [...]

Nature School coming to Fanshawe Conservation Area! (UTRCA weekly, September 10, 2021) Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) Community Education staff are looking forward to welcoming children to Fanshawe Nature School next month! Parents can register their children online now for the six week outdoor program, which is designed to provide safe, nature-based learning through play and exploration at Fanshawe Conservation Area. Fanshawe Nature School will have three, [...]

St. Marys Sparling Bush Pollinator Garden (UTRCA weekly, August 27, 2021) Thanks to funding from TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, hundreds of pollinator plants are now growing next to the Sparling Bush in St. Marys. Staff from the Town of St. Marys prepared the site, which included stripping the sod, bringing in topsoil, tilling, and providing mulch. Originally, the plan was for local students to participate and get [...]

Shoreline Improvements on Lake Victoria (UTRCA weekly, August 19, 2021) Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) staff took advantage of the nice weather to add some finishing touches to the latest shoreline restoration project on Lake Victoria in Stratford. Several trays of wildflower plugs, Big Bluestem plugs, and serviceberry trees were planted along the north shore of Stratford’s Lake Victoria last month. The plugs and trees will provide the [...]

Turtle Team 2021 (UTRCA weekly, August 13, 2021) The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority’s (UTRCA) “Turtle Team” has had a busy spring and early summer. During the lengthy, six week nesting season, the team located hundreds of turtle nests along the river and collected thousands of eggs, transporting them to the UTRCA Watershed Conservation Centre (WCC) for incubation. In late July, eggs of various species of turtles began to [...]

Popular Nature School makes its return (UTRCA Weekly, August 6, 2021) Wildwood Nature School returns this fall with online registration opening on August 10 at 6 am on Eventbrite. The school was fully booked when it was launched in fall 2020, but the winter and spring 2021 sessions were cancelled due to the pandemic. Programming is offered for children from 18 months of age up to 11 years. Every [...]

Friends of Stoney Creek continue through pandemic (UTRCA weekly, July 30, 2021) The volunteer work of the Friends of Stoney Creek has continued through the pandemic. This spring, volunteers prepared the second plot for the Friends’ pollinator garden, which UTRCA staff then planted on May 27. Species planted included: black eyed Susan, bergamot, white coneflower, purple coneflower, butterfly milkweed, coreopsis, blanket flower, and lavender. COVID-19 may have delayed the [...]

Reporting on Woodland and Natural Cover Mapping (UTRCA weekly, July 23, 2021) The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) works on behalf of its member municipalities to track and provide information on environmental conditions in the Upper Thames River watershed. One aspect of this work involves mapping and analysing woodlands and other natural cover, and reporting on these changes every five years through the forest condition grades and data [...]