UTRCA Helps Plan Mock Flood Events for London and St. Marys Emergency Training Exercises (UTRCA weekly, January 6, 2023)  In November 2022, the City of London and the Town of St. Marys held their Mandatory Training Exercises under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.    For this annual exercise, emergency service providers within each municipality convened to review a mock emergency scenario and discuss how they would manage a system-wide response. In 2022, the scenarios, for both the City of London and the Town of St. Marys, focused on flooding of the Thames River. As such, Upper Thames River [...]

Celebrate the Holidays by getting outside (UTRCA weekly, December 23, 2022) The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) wishes everyone a happy and healthy holiday season. Visiting a UTRCA property is a great way to stay active and connect with nature during this time and there are many locations to visit throughout the watershed. Fanshawe (London), Pittock (Woodstock), and Wildwood (St. Marys) Conservation Areas are closed for camping, but visitors are welcome to hike, bike, and enjoy nature during daylight hours. Please be aware that all washrooms and other facilities are closed and vehicle access may be limited. [...]

Treed Buffer Planted on Pittock Conservation Area’s South Shore (UTRCA weekly, December 16, 2022) Pittock Reservoir’s south shore has a new treed buffer, planted by Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) staff and school students over the past four years. The buffer is approximately 50 metre wide and 600 m long, and flanks Pittock’s South Shore Trail and the Lampman-Lock Drain on UTRCA land. The buffer roughly follows the regulation limit, meaning all flood susceptible land is now retired from agriculture. Buffering watercourses with native plants helps to filter pollutants in runoff, prevent erosion, and provide wildlife corridors. [...]

UTRCA responds to Bill 23 but it’s business as usual, for now (UTRCA weekly, December 9, 2022) In late November, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) Board of Directors sent a letter to Premier Doug Ford outlining its concerns regarding Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act. The letter states that, “Conservation Authorities want to do their part to help the Province meet its goal of building 1.5 million homes in Ontario over the next ten years. However, we are writing you to express our strong opposition to the changes proposed in the More Homes Built Faster Act.” [...]

Library Project a Success again this year (UTRCA weekly, November 25, 2022) The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) partnered with area libraries again this year to give library patrons the opportunity to visit our Conservation Areas. The UTRCA provided 2022 Season Vehicle passes to the Childreach Lending Library, London Public Library, North Perth Library, Perth East Library, St. Marys Public Library, Stratford Public Library, and Oxford County libraries. The passes provide day use access to Wildwood, Fanshawe, and Pittock Conservation Areas, and can be signed out similar to a library book. This initiative began in 2019 with the [...]

Community Plantings to end the year (UTRCA weekly, November 18, 2022) The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) has wrapped up a busy year of community plantings, adding trees and plants to two more sites this October. The UTRCA was pleased to work with Oneida Nation of the Thames and TD Tree Days on October 7. A total of 250 new trees were planted, including pear, apple, peach, white cedar, white spruce, white pine, hemlock, sugar maple, and red maple. Fruit trees planted in previous years were reported to now be bearing fruit! Tree planting visits to the homes [...]

Tracking Water Quality in Stratford (UTRCA weekly, November 11, 2022) Earlier this week, volunteers with the Avon River Environmental Association (AREA) collected water samples from the Avon River in Stratford. The group collects samples twice a year to be tested for E. coli as part of their efforts to improve the Avon’s water quality. The results are shared with the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) and included in the UTRCA’s Watershed Report Cards. Every five years, the UTRCA produces report cards that summarize local environmental conditions in each of the 28 watersheds within the upper Thames watershed. These [...]

Let’s talk soil health! (UTRCA weekly, November 4, 2022) Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) stewardship staff recently met up with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) Soil Team as well as local farmers, Jeremy O’Shea and Belinda Bowman, to discuss all things soil. The morning began at one of the water sampling stations in the upper Medway Creek subwatershed. UTRCA staff discussed an initiative to improve soil health within the watershed by focusing on one specific agricultural Best Management Practice (BMP): cover crop trials. Between fall 2018 and spring 2022, the UTRCA received funding [...]

Installing LUNKERS for Fish Habitat on Medway Creek (UTRCA weekly, October 28, 2022) Approximately 12 metres of wooden fish habitat structures has been installed along a bend on Medway Creek near Thirteen Mile Road, in Middlesex Centre. The wooden cover structures, also referred to as Little Underwater Neighbourhood Keepers Encompassing Rheotactic Salmonids (LUNKERS), are set just beneath the water’s surface. They are constructed of oak hardwood which, so long as it stays wet, will last for many years. The LUNKERS are located on the outside of a bend where the natural water movement will scour the area clear of [...]

More Celebrating Natural Connections events! (UTRCA weekly, October 21, 2022) The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) is hosting two more free Celebrating Natural Connections events in October! Celebrating Natural Connections commemorates the efforts of frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and celebrates the natural spaces that are so important for our physical and mental health. Local artists and municipalities are involved in the events, as well as hiking, naturalist, and angler clubs. Saturday, October 22, Lion’s Park, Mitchell Activities will include a guided insect hike with UTRCA and West Perth Library staff, live reptile shows with Sciensational Sssnakes, [...]