Nature School at our Conservation Areas  Nature School is being offered once again at our Conservation Areas this spring and registration is now open. Register your kids to learn and grow in nature through play and exploration!   Every trip to Nature School will be its own adventure. Each visit starts with a grounding in the surroundings and a reminder of nature awareness routines and best practices for spending time outside. There will be planned options for activities but what actually happens will be child-directed and depend on the day. This may include songs, stories, play, exploration, journaling, sit spots, [...]

Huron College Students Compete in the RBC Bootcamp  The RBC Innovation Bootcamp is an event designed for arts, social science, and business students from Huron College at Western University. This is an annual opportunity for students to gain experience solving real-world problems for a local organization.  After a very successful partnership with Huron College to undertake the ScotiaBank Scholars Program, Huron approached the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) to be the partner organization for this year’s RBC Bootcamp.   Together, we developed statements that reflect real-world challenges faced by the UTRCA. These challenge statements addressed a variety of public-facing [...]

PWQMN and Water Quality Targets Monitoring   To collect long-term water quality data at monitoring stations throughout the watershed, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) has partnered with the Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks (MECP) in the Provincial Water Quality Monitoring Network (PWQMN) program.  In the watershed, there are 24 active water quality stations that are sampled from March through October or April through November depending on spring melt. Nine of the stations are sampled eight times a year and the other 15 are sampled four times a year.   PWQMN is an example of a successful long-term monitoring [...]

Stargazing at Fanshawe Reservoir... During the Day?  Lake stars are not a very common occurrence, but Fanshawe Reservoir had the right conditions for their formation on Wednesday, March 8th. That morning, staff spotted this constellation of stars on the reservoir during routine maintenance of water level monitoring equipment located at the Fanshawe Dam. A few lucky hikers also were surprised by this starry display on their morning routes.   Few studies have been carried out on this phenomenon, but according to Victor Tsai, a geophysicist at Brown University and coauthor Yale physicist John Wettlaufer, lake stars, also known as “ice [...]

What is a Wetland? Over the last 150 years, many of our wetlands have been eliminated from natural landscapes, but recently, we have come to realize the importance of these essential habitats.   Wetlands have standing water at, near, or above the soil surface for part or all of the year. They provide many valuable ecosystem services, such as filtering out sediments and pollutants to improve water quality; acting like giant sponges to reduce flooding; helping control erosion along rivers and lakes; providing food, water, and shelter for wildlife; and offering beautiful areas to enjoy nature.  There are four different [...]

Only Rain Down the Drain  The 2023 spring season of Stream of Dreams is in full swing! Through this elementary school program, students learn about their local watershed, storm water management, and how to protect and conserve water. Often, they remember the catchy phrase: “only rain down the drain”.  This year, with support from the Thames Valley District School Board, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) staff have been excited to involve nine elementary schools and teach almost 3,000 students how to better protect our waterways.   In addition to in-class education, Stream of Dreams involves a community art [...]

Handheld Unit Flow Readings   Field staff at the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) regularly take streamflow readings at a number of sites in streams, creeks, and drains across the watershed. Streamflow refers to the volume of water that moves over a designated point over a fixed period of time.   This data is used to indicate hydrologic conditions, as well as the discharge amounts of a watershed. This helps staff understand how high and low water impacts the watershed. This information helps determine ideal water level conditions to promote healthy habitats and improve overall watershed health.   To measure streamflow, [...]