Live Staking with University of Western Ontario
On April 25th, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) partnered with a group of University of Western graduate and undergraduate students on a stream bank stabilization and natural buffer zone project along a stretch of Medway Creek that runs through Western’s campus.
The project included the planting of 200 native shrubs and trees along what was previously a turf grass lawn running right up to the creek’s banks. The planting team also hammered into the shoreline live stakes of sandbank willow trees that had been previously harvested in a location further upstream. Live staking is a form of bio engineering that stabilizes river/creek banks, provides aquatic and riparian habitat, prevents pollutants from entering the watercourse, cools the waterway (through shading), and helps prevent flooding. Because spring flooding delayed the planting until late April, the stakes were cut a month earlier and stored in cold storage at Western’s greenhouse so that they would remain in a dormant condition.
The day began with a Water Ceremony led by Wahsayzee Deleary, a water protector and Anishinabekwe from the Oneida and Chippewa of the Thames First Nations. Brandon Doxtator, Environmental Coordinator from Oneida Nation of the Thames was also present to participate in knowledge sharing around Indigenous land-based learning, conservation, ecological justice, and upstream/downstream relationship building.
The goal of the planting was to improve water quality in the Medway Creek Watershed and Deshkaan Ziibi/Thames River. The project was made possible by a partnership between the UTRCA and Western’s Think Globally, Act Locally program, which provides funding for campus projects aimed at mitigating climate change, building sustainable futures, and protecting biodiversity.
Contact: Tom Cull, Community Partnership Specialist
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