Over 400 Students Participate in the 2025 GREEN Leaders Summit
Over 400 Students Participate in the 2025 GREEN Leaders Summit On June 3rd, over 400 grade 7/8 students from 16 classes in the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB), London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB), and the Huron Perth Catholic District School Board (HPCDSB) came together for the GREEN Leaders Student Summit. For the second year, the event was hosted by Huron University College where the campus and lecture theatres provided a beautiful venue for GREEN Leaders to learn, share, and celebrate their accomplishments in the program. At the beginning of the school year, each GREEN Leaders class selected [...]
Spring 2025 Tree Planting
Spring 2025 Tree Planting Season Wraps Up with 32,000 Trees Planted The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) recently finished another successful tree planting season with just over 32,000 trees and shrubs planted and distributed. More than 30 landowners in the watershed took advantage of the UTRCA planting services. In addition to the crew’s efforts, another 93 landowners undertook planting on their own to increase and restore natural ecosystems on their property. The cooler temperatures and ample moisture throughout April and May were ideal for planting. Forestry staff and a crew of four braved heat, rain, snow and wind. [...]
Source Water Protection at the Children’s Water Festival!
Source Water Protection Attends Children's Water Festival! From May 13th to May 16th, the Thames-Sydenham Source Protection Region proudly participated in the 2025 Oxford Children’s Water Festival, held at Pittock Conservation Area. The event provided a fun and educational opportunity for students to explore the importance of drinking water protection and the science behind it. Throughout the festival, students engaged in hands-on learning activities that focused on the sources of drinking water and the multi-barrier approach used to safeguard them. One of the highlights included a demonstration about the dangers of improper handling of hazardous household substances—especially dense non-aqueous [...]
Tackling Giant Hogweed: the UTRCA’s Ongoing Effort to Protect Local Ecosystems
Tackling Giant Hogweed: the UTRCA’s Ongoing Effort to Protect Local Ecosystems Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) Lands and Facilities staff have been hard at work managing one of Ontario’s most dangerous invasive species: Giant Hogweed. This invasive species not only threatens native species by outcompeting them but poses serious health hazards to people and wildlife due to its toxic sap. This spring, we’ve dedicated over 120 hours of work and treated approximately 116 acres of authority-owned property along the Thames River. This effort involves careful surveying, management and ongoing monitoring to reduce the spread of Hogweed and provide [...]
Local Landowners Lead the Way in Phosphorus Reduction Efforts
Local Landowners Lead the Way in Phosphorus Reduction Efforts With funding from the Canada Water Agency, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) launched the Upper Thames Phosphorus Reduction Program in the fall of last year, to help reduce the amount of phosphorus reaching Lake Erie. While phosphorus enters the environment in many ways, one of the most challenging sources to manage is runoff from rain events, especially across large rural and agricultural areas. This program is designed to support and strengthen on-the-ground efforts by offering funding, tools, and technical guidance to implement practical solutions that work for individual [...]
Thames River Cleanup Wraps Up 2025
Thames River Cleanup Wraps Up 2025 On April 5th and 6th, the Thames River Cleanup held its 26th annual Earth Day cleanup. Over a thousand volunteers from across the watershed pitched in to clear tonnes of garbage and litter from along rivers, creeks, and green spaces. Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) Partnership staff lead cleanups with the Friends of Medway Creek, Friends of Stoney Creek groups, and a volunteer group at Fanshawe Conservation Area. The Thames River Cleanup thanks all of its sponsors with special mention going to Mountain Equipment Company who put together over a thousand [...]
Spring Tree Planting on Medway Creek
Spring Tree Planting on Medway Creek This spring, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) led three days of tree planting on the Medway Creek as a part of the Freshwater Enhancement of the Medway Watershed project, funded by the Canada Water Agency. With the help of over 200 Grade 7/8 students, over 750 trees were planted on the Medway Creek, including red maple, sugar maple, willows, white cedar, nannyberry, elderberry, and white pine. Thank you to students from Princess Elizabeth Public School and Green Leaders classes from Byron Northview, Ashley Oaks, and Stoney Creek Public Schools. Green Leaders [...]
Spawning White Suckers in Medway Creek: A Springtime Spectacle
Spawning White Suckers in Medway Creek: A Springtime Spectacle On April 23, 2025, a local resident witnessed something truly special while walking along Fox Hollow Ravine—suckers during their annual spring spawning run in Medway Creek! Each spring, as water temperatures climb to approximately 10°C, adult White Suckers (Catostomus commersonii) begin migrating upstream to shallow, gravel-bottomed riffles to spawn. They're often joined by other suckers, including Redhorses: a group that includes species such as the Golden Redhorse (Moxostoma erythrurum) and the Threatened Black Redhorse (Moxostoma duquesnei). These species take turns using the same riffles as water temperatures continue to rise, [...]
Pesticides Sampling in the Upper Thames River Watershed
Pesticides Sampling in the Upper Thames River Watershed The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) has recently begun a partnership with the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), a branch of Health Canada. The PMRA is responsible for the regulation of pesticide products in Canada. It also assesses the risks to both human and environmental health associated with the use of pesticides. The UTRCA and PMRA partnership has initiated the Canadian Water Monitoring Program for Pesticides (CWMPP), which allows the UTRCA to monitor pesticide levels in surface water by collecting samples twice weekly at three different subwatersheds: Gregory Creek near Cherry [...]
London Participates in the City Nature Challenge
London Participates in the City Nature Challenge This spring from April 25 to 28, Londoners were out and about participating in London’s third annual City Nature Challenge! The City Nature Challenge (CNC) is an international effort, encouraging people to find and document plants, animals, and fungi in their cities! Using iNaturalist, the CNC is a bioblitz-style competition, where cities are in friendly contest with each other to see who can make the most observations of nature. As a part of the CNC, local organizations organized hikes through green spaces in London. Hikes were led by local naturalists and were [...]