Eco education in the City

There are many opportunities for youth to reconnect with nature.  This movement has grown in leaps and bounds!  Here are some that I have found in my city, with short description taken from their "about" pages:

Forest School (Ottawa): Forest Schools provide nature-based education where children have the opportunities to build an on-going relationship with the land by learning outdoors in a natural environment for at least a half of their day

SEED Educators: (See Environmental Education Differently) helping teachers incorporate environmental education into their classrooms

Ottawa Nature Collaborative: Facebook group organized by the Early Childhood Professional Learning Community to showcase how to integrate nature into learning based on the Take Me Outside principles

EcoLeadership Program: a Catalyst Mind initiative that helps young people connect with the outdoors for learning, restoration and wellbeing.  They design and lead programs for schools and youth groups.

Nature Canada's Nature Hood events: which are organized to help connect people of all ages to nature right where they live — which, in Canada, increasingly means urban centres.

Photos from: Catalyst Mind, ECPLC and Nature Canada

S.O.S. Ottawa Trees

Ottawa Roger's Cable company (Channel 22) has an interesting show called S.O.S. Ottawa Trees that was produced in ??. Currently there are three episodes that talk about different issues regarding our urban canopy.

From the website:

One of Ottawa's greatest assets, the trees that green our neighbourhoods, are under threat from pests, new construction and a harsh urban environment. S.O.S Ottawa Trees takes a closer look at the challenges facing our urban canopy and how you can help keep Ottawa green.

Episode 1

In Ottawa, 40 million ash trees are threatened by the Emerald Ash Borer. We take a closer look at this tiny insect and how it's changing the landscape of the National Capital Region.

Episode 2

Ottawa is a growing city, but when new homes and buildings go up, often mature trees come down. We look at infill and new construction and how to embrace change while preserving our greenspaces.

Episode 3

Planting a tree is easy, right? Get tips from the experts on how to properly plant a tree, and get inspired by our 'Tree Heroes': people who are making sure Ottawa's future is a green one.

P.S. Check out my latest "urban wild" nature blog: Wild. Here. (2016 update)

when Nature and Numbers don't meet

What a great topic!  Someone emailed me a link to this symposium.

Information from the website:

The Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies will host a three-day symposium on the intersections and tensions between sensory or emotive experiences of nature and the bureaucratic, political, and scientific quantification of the environment.  

We are especially interested in reflexive moments when numbers become lived experience; moments of cooptation when quantification appropriates the language of experience; and moments of resistance when the mismatch between experience and quantification overwhelms the discussion.  Potential research questions include:

• How is nature defined and valued, and for or by whom?
• How have sensory and emotive experiences of the environment been translated into numerical or monetary terms, and are there examples of the reverse phenomenon?
• When and why have environmentalists adopted numbers or monetary values for conservation ends, and what are the trade-offs of this approach compared to, for example, arguments for the intrinsic value(s) of nature?
• Who has determined the correspondence between qualitative and quantitative measures of value?  How?  To what end?
• How have the values societies ascribe to nature changed over time, how are social and political conflicts over these values adjudicated, and what has been the role of scientific expertise?

 Link to Event


Symposium organizers:
Kristoffer Whitney, Postdoctoral Fellow, Holtz Center for Science & Technology Studies
Melanie Kiechle, Assistant Professor of History, Virginia Tech.

Wildlife Education in Toronto Parkette

New Partnership Will Green Toronto Parks 

"An example of a project that received funding in the first year of this program is the Ritchie Parkette. With a $25,000 grant, The Rotary Club of Toronto, the Friends of Ritchie Parkette and the Toronto Department of Parks, Forestry & Recreation will rehabilitate the parkette’s natural environment, introduce wildlife education and programming."

All details here: Ontario Trillium Foundation

More details were available on the Friends of Ritchie Parkette Blog:

It was announced yesterday that the W. Garfield Weston Foundation will support improvements to Ritchie Parkette with a $25,000 grant provided through the Weston Family Parks Challenge.  

The Rotary Club of Toronto, the Friends of Ritchie Parkette and the Toronto Department of Parks, Forestry & Recreation will use the grant to rehabilitate the parkette’s natural environment, introduce wildlife education and programming. 
We are approved for the following: 

•  Native species will be planted at the front of the park and some interpretive signage that identifies the plants and describes healthy natural habitats. 

• A chalk board wildlife and bird sighting display and some signage about birds in the area will be erected with links for posting bird, insect and mammal sightings to this blog. 

• Access to a water tap for all seasons. 

This means sandcastles, rivers through sand tunnels and water for the ice rink in the winter.  

Thanks to all involved for their time in helping us win this generous grant.

All images from Friends of Ritchie Parkette Blog (Owl visited their park in November 2012!)



Other Urban Bird Posts:

- Urban Bobolink in Ottawa (2012)

- The Pigeon Paradox (2012)

- Urban Chimney Swift Towers (2011)

- Purple Martin Nesting (2011)

- Roosting Crows in Ottawa (2011)

WILD in the City (Ottawa Magazine)

Dear Ottawa Magazine Editors:

I was very surprised by the heavy-handed, one-sided Ottawa Magazine's "Wild in the City" article published in April (2013), although I should have noted before I started reading that it was placed in the "Political" section.  Ron Corbett angled the article as do many journalists in present-day media seeing wildlife as a nuisance and describing the negative and/or confused attitudes of locals and by describing ways of "getting rid of the problem".  In his article he describes menacing coyotes including one that hung out in a Kanata backyard for days, clueless Glebites trying to save trees by poorly identifying migratory birds, crows roosting in Alta Vista "that would scare Alfred Hitchcock" and beavers frustrating City of Ottawa staff by daming up storm water pipes, etc.

He interviews many people including councillors and Ministry of Natural Resources employees but sadly there is only one short paragraph detailing humane options for coexistance that MANY cities are employing and/or considering: naturalizing perimeters with tall grass and addling eggs to discourage the over population of geese (in cities like Kelowna and Peachland, B.C.), installing water flow devices and "beaver deceivers" that allow beavers and people to coexist (installed in Cornwall and Mission City B.C.) and humane education solutions for urban coyote conflicts such as the "Co-exist with Coyotes" program promoted by Stanley Park Ecology Society to name a few.

This could have been a great opportunity to educate local Ottawa residents on all the options we have in terms of humane solutions to live with and be able to appreciate the wildlife that flourishes and can be enjoyed throughout the city.  It has taken over ten years for Ottawa to regain what was lost when the Ottawa Carleton Wildlife Centre had to close its doors to rehabilitating injured wildlife.  (Kudos to the Centre for continuing in the Education realm however!)  This is not the time to promote antiquated attitudes and outdated methods.  This is the time to reinforce new ideas and humane options in terms of coexistance and better understanding of wildlife and their ways. 

I would ask that the Ottawa Magazine explore these alternatives and provide a non-biased article or better yet an article helping to educate Ottawa citizens and demonstrate better alternatives that other Canadian cities are choosing and the opportunities that we could enjoy here.

Signed KF

our impact on the wild

The pros and cons of promoting "urban wild"...

We live near Green's Creek and had seen an owl very close to the foot path (but couldn't i.d. it as it flew off quickly - as surprised to see us as we were to see it) this fall, so I was excited to see this picture on The Weather Network's page: Great Grey Owl.  It was a nice confirmation that we are blessed to live so close to an area that is great habitat for wildlife.

We missed this write up in the Ottawa Citizen: Return of the Great Grey Owls which should have been a great opportunity for promoting interest in wildlife to city dwellers but then I saw some comments on the Ottawa Field Naturalists' page and discovered this blog post: The debate on baiting owls by 100 Birds in a Year.  I'm not currently in town, so had no idea that this was happening.

This issue distressed me.  I know it is nature's way - that owls are predatory but I feel that baiting owls is not natural for either the mouse or the owl and I just feel bad for both. I didn't want to write about it but when I stumbled upon this posted by Tony Beck, I felt it sums up the situation quite well and provided some guidelines to consider: Interaction with Owls at Tommy Thompson Park.

"An owl should not be focused on you: it should either be sleeping with its eyes closed on focusing intently on prey. If you see an owl exhibiting these sings, simply back off and give it space.Considering the stress that one individual can place on an owl, it is easy to see how problematic it can be when the location of an owl is posted or shared by word of mouth. It isn’t long before the owl is being bombarded by multitudes of people."

At the above link there is a pdf document that outlines their new Viewing and Reporting Policy.  These types of policies should be enacted in all cities - I hope that Ottawa follows suit.

I also feel that education is key so that people understand their impact on the wild and know how to interact and read the signs that are indicated by the wildlife species themselves. Perhaps at some point - depending on the situation certain locations will have to be protected and in others "limited weekend guided tours" could be allowed.  For now I'm hoping that policies such as the ones above will prove helpful.  If I had known about the Green's Creek situation, I would have truly appreciated having a number I could call and some local authorities that could have dealt with the situation properly.

No Image Included as a Solidarity Action for the Owls

Local Level Biodiversity

From their website: ICLEI's biodiversity graphics will address the importance of cities and biodiversity action at the local level. From the need for dynamic conservation projects to the value of ecosystems in Canada, they will offer the need-to-know facts about biodiversity practices in Canada and internationally.

Download the first in the series today: Biodiversity: Conservation Starts at the Local Level

"Cities now occupy 3% of the earth’s land surface, hold 50% of our population, and consume 75% of all natural resources. All of these pressures put the world’s biodiversity at risk. But cities large and small are both the problem and the solution. Local leaders are recognizing biodiversity’s vital role in sustainable development and its contribution to human wellbeing. Check out Biodiversity: Conservation Starts at the Local Level and find out more about why cities must drive action from the bottom up."

get your hands dirty

Be an urban ecologist! Discover the world around you! You'd be surprised at what kind of data groups are trying to gather:

Frog Watch Ontario: amphibian monitoring program - learn the frog and toad calls online, pick your site, monitoring it once or twice a week from March to July and report your findings!

Ontario Turtle Tally (since 2003): when you spot a turtle register it online (location, type, number, habitat, etc.). You can even submit a photo and the GPS coordinates. Best time for turtle sightings is in June when they are migrating to nesting sites.

Worm Watch: this monitoring program is helping scientists determine the number and variety of earthworm species and the health of habitats. I.D. info is available online - be the first to report for Ottawa!

The Lost Ladybug Project: you can make a day out of this one - using a sweep nest and visiting various sites. Size and description of ladybugs (including photos) are needed and even "nul data" info is important to report.

Monarch Larva Monitoring Project: data collected will help with the understanding of butterfly ecology and effects on populations. Information on eggs and larva are collected either as anecdotal data or by committing to monitor a patch of milkweed for the entire butterfly season (from late spring to fall).

Images from: 1| 2| 3| 4

Bio-Blitzing - One Day event of Wonder

Have you ever participated in a bioblitz? These are usually a one-day event, where various experts on different types of flora and fauna are invited so that all (or as many as possible) species of a location are documented. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the nature surrounding you and to see what type of biodiversity exists in an area. Check with local nature, wildlife or field naturalist groups to see if they are planning one in your city this summer.

Here's a list of various events that have happened in the last decade or so:

- Canadian Biodiversity Institute's Great Canadian Bio Blitz (2001)
- Macoun Marsh Bio Blitz (2007)
- Chelsea Bio Blitz (2009)
- Boucher Woods Bio Blitz (2010)
- South March Highlands Bio Blitz (2011)
- Tucker House Bio Blitz (2011)

Here's a great website that lists Bio Blitz events each year: Nature Knowledge Website

***June 2012 Update***

Just missed this one:  

High Lonesome Nature Reserve Bioblitz (Pakenham)
Thursday, June 14, 2012 - 09:00 to 17:00

urban coyotes

During our tracking class last week, the teacher pointed out fresh coyote tracks on school grounds beside the loggersports field. The campus used to be an old farm and there is a river running on the east and south end, with a small creek running into it. Rabbit, skunk, squirrels and racoons live near or on the property. We've also been told that you can find many different birds including osprey, cooper's hawks, ruffed grouse and owls. When you really think about it, it's amazing who our neighbours are.

In the last couple of years there has been a growing number of human-coyote interactions in different cities across Canada and municipalities have had different approaches to addressing these "conflicts". Vancouver has chosen a policy of "co-existance" which many wildlife centres have praised as forward-thinking. I received an email from the Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre that had this to say:

"In the metropolitan core (Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster) there are about 200 to 300 coyotes. Coyotes in urban areas will scrounge for food scraps and pet food left outdoors in garbage or compost — but their main food source in cities are the large populations of rats and mice.

Co-Existing with Coyotes aims to reduce conflict between people, pets and coyotes by providing accessible information through a wide range of media. The program has been developed in cooperation with the Vancouver Park Board and BC's Ministry of Environment in response to increasing public contact with, and demand for information about, coyotes in Vancouver."

Check out their website or email them to find out more: coyotes@stanleyparkecology.ca

Urban Wildlife Resources (Maryland)

Urban Wildlife Resources was founded in 1995 to serve as an information source and clearinghouse for urban wildlife-related matters. A major objective is to facilitate interaction and cooperation among land managers and planners, biologists, and landscape architects in achieving better management of natural resources in urban and urbanizing areas through research, planning, design, and education.

The bookstore includes an "Urban Wildlife Manager's Notebook" - a set of information bulletins for homeowners, open space managers, wildlife biologists, and others interested in wildlife conservation in urban areas. Contents include:

- A Wildlife Plan for Small Properties
- A Simple Backyard Pond
- Feeding Birds in Winter
- Housing for Nesting Birds
- Natural Landscaping--Meadows
- Reptiles and Amphibians
- Birds That Attack Houses
- A Guide to Developing an Urban Wildlife Library
- Brushpiles and Rockpiles: Small Habitats for Backyard Wildlife
- Dragonflies and Damselflies in Your Backyard Pond
- Butterflies in Your Garden
- Saving Snags for Urban Wildlife
- You and Stinging Insects

There also are Conservation Education Packs for Teachers


URBAN WILDLIFE RESOURCES
Columbia, Maryland

Safari 7 in NYC

Love this idea!

Safari 7 is a self-guided tour of urban wildlife along the 7 subway line. The 7 Line is a physical, urban transect through New York City’s most diverse range of ecosystems. Affectionately called the International Express, the 7 line runs from Manhattan’s dense core, under the East River, and through a dispersed mixture of residences and parklands, terminating in downtown Flushing, Queens, the nation’s most ethnically diverse county.

Safari 7 circulates an ongoing series of podcasts and maps that explore the complexity, biodiversity, conflicts, and potentials of New York’s ecosystems. (This project) imagines train cars as eco-urban classrooms, and invites travelers to act as park rangers in their city.

A collaboration between The Urban Landscape Lab and MTWTF.

(All above details from their website.)