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

Update on Guelph's Pollinator Park (decommissioned Eastview Landfill site)

I first blogged about this Pollinator Park project in 2012!  Glad to see that it continues to expand!

From the website (Pollination Guelph Planting Sites):

(The) pollinator habitat (is) on the 45ha (112 acre) decommissioned Eastview Landfill site. (It) will be one of the first and largest pollinator initiatives to occur in Ontario, Canada, and internationally. It will also highlight the City of Guelph's commitment to being a leader in environmental initiatives.

The Pollinator Park is a long-term, multi-stage project. Work began in the fall of 2012 and the first hectare was seeded in Fall 2013. We plan to seed another two hectares in Fall 2014 and if we can raise the funds, add two hectares a year in future years.

A bee hotel was added in June 2014 through the "Wild for Bees" initiative, which Pollination Guelph was a site partner in. This initiative is sponsored by Burt's Bees, Sustainable.TO, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, and Pollinator Partnership Canada.

The park borders Speedvale Ave, Watson Road, Eastview Rd

From Guelph Mercury article (written by Chris Seto):

(The) project had to use the herbicide Roundup to get rid of the fescue grass, a species planted to help prevent soil erosion on the mound.

The Eastview Landfill was decommissioned in 2003 after collecting the city's garbage since 1961. For the past 10 years it sat empty, gathering various weeds and invasive plant species. Some flowering species grew out of its clay, rocky soil, but the field hasn't been much of a hot spot for wildlife.

Since 2009, Pollination Guelph has had its eye on this open space as a potential haven for bees, butterflies, birds and native plant species, but it needed to raise enough funds to be able to act on its plan. This year, the charitable organization reached its goal of raising $15,000 – the amount it cost to prep and seed one hectare of land – and was able to sow the seeds of a variety of native species.

These species include coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, milkweeds, Indian grass and several others. The first flowers are expected to appear in the fall, with the majority of the bloom occurring in 2015.

The site will have to be monitored and mowed every couple of years to ensure it isn't overrun by invasive species.  (Burning isn't an option above the methane gas producing landfill.)

Elaine Williams, executive director of Wildlife Preservation Canada, said her organization joined up with Pollination Guelph earlier this year. She hopes the pollination park will become a healthy sanctuary for various species at risk, including the meadowlark and the bobolink bird. She said once the park is more established, it may even be a good place to reintroduce the endangered rusty patch bumblebee.

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

Women for Nature

"It was on Parliament Hill, in Centre Block, where about 150 guests and one well-mannered great horned owl named Darwin attended the launch of Women for Nature. The event was hosted by Nature Canada and senators Janis Johnson and Nancy Greene Raine with nature-loving MPs Stella Ambler, Linda Duncan, Joyce Murray, Kirsty Duncan and Elizabeth May.

The female politicians are part of a new and expanding group of influential women who are using their skills and leadership to connect more Canadians to nature while also raising awareness for Nature Canada, a non-profit organization working to preserve and protect nature.

Serving as honorary chair is Johnson, who spoke about her childhood summers fishing off the dock and catching frogs in Gimli, Man. “Nature was my world,” said Johnson, who still loves to fly-fish. Her colleague, Greene Raine, summed up nicely the way nature helps to rejuvenate us. “It lets us connect with powers that are bigger than what we find in the city,” said the Olympic ski legend from British Columbia. “We get tired in our humdrum day, working all the time. We get refreshed when we step out into the nature.”

Guests included a mix of politicians and sponsors. Canadian Museum of Nature CEO Meg Beckel is a founding member of Women for Nature. So is prominent Ottawa-based photographer Michelle Valberg. Coincidentally, she’s been snapping a lot of shots of snowy owls due to their unusual migration, known as an irruption, here in the region."

Ottawa Citizen

(Great new effort (hopefully they recognize that nature is IN the city also!)

Value Of Urban Trees

The Urban Forest Stewardship Network is an online resource for organizations, community groups and individuals working on urban forest initiatives across Ontario. It is a platform for sharing experiences and resources, and for capacity building.

The Urban Forest Stewardship Network was initiated by LEAF (Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests) in an effort to bring together community based urban forest groups from across the province.

One of their projects is to TAG URBAN TREES to show their value to those who benefit from them.  These tags can be placed on street treets and trees in parks or even on your own front lawn to display the benefits in Air Pollution Control, Water Recycling, Oxygen Generation, etc.

local funding for green

Evergreen Funding in Ottawa (2011 - 2012):

Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation – Manotick, ON
Graham Creek Restoration Project
Founded in 1970, The Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation is a registered environmental charity that works to protect and conserve the Rideau River valley in eastern Ontario. The Graham Creek Restoration Project, located in a public park, will focus on restoring a section of the tributary creek through a combination of bioengineering techniques and public shoreline plantings.

Sustainable Living Ottawa East (SLOE) – Ottawa, ON
The Children’s Garden – Sustainable Living Ottawa East created Ottawa’s first public garden four years ago. Designed for and with children, the SLOE garden is dedicated to teaching kids how to grow food organically right in the middle of the city. The garden has built links with schoolchildren and youth groups, attracted families to events and provided sanctuary for anyone who wants to escape into the wonder and magic of this urban oasis. This season they will continue to offer programs and activities that provide children with hands-on opportunities to engage their curiosity about the natural world through gardening and nature-based activities.

Fletcher Wildlife Garden – Ottawa, ON
Tree Planting - Funding for this project will support the removal of several dead trees from the Fletcher Wildlife garden site, and the addition of various native trees as replacement.  The new native trees will be sourced from the Fletcher Wildlife Garden’s native plant nursery which supports the organization’s restoration and wildlife habitat development initiatives.

Sustainable Living Ottawa East – Ottawa, ON
Community Park Participatory Planning - This project is Phase 2 of a community park planning process developed by SLOE in consultation with local community members.  SLOE staff will work with community members to develop a plan for a local park and protected forest area through various hands-on activities and educational tours of the site.  This project will also see the installation of more educational signage along a pathway in the park with information on native plants in the area.

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."

My Street Has No Trees (Toronto)

"My Street Has No Trees (MSHNT) is a public and participatory installation that utilizes the vestigial design of Toronto’s Post and Ring bike stands as armatures for micro-gardens. The intent of the project is to raise awareness about the imbalance between the hardscapes and softscapes of our streets, to encourage people to think critically about the transformative possibilities of our everyday environments, and to increase the beauty and joy of our neighbourhoods."

(From the website MSHNT)

Green Spaces in Urban Places (Ottawa)

Green Spaces in Urban Places - Urban (Forestry) Natural Areas Stewardship Program

A program to promote, create and sustain the Urban Green infrastructure in the City of Ottawa, while promoting other city planning programs and plans that are available. The focus of this program is to develop a methodology used to prioritize and evaluate the various urban natural areas in Ottawa for stewardship projects. A template/methodology was developed and is used to prioritize and evaluate the various areas in Ottawa for green projects.

Our Partners: Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, City of Ottawa, Carleton University (Practicum Placement Program), Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

Program website: N/A

From Ottawa Stewardship Council 2011 report

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Also check out the City of Ottawa's Greenspace Master Plan (pdf) - August 2006.  In it they outline strategies for Ottawa's urban greenspaces.

Image from the City of Ottawa website.

Emergant Plant Installation (Ohio)

From University of Toledo (Ohio):

"Using plant plugs to vegetate the banks of the Ottawa River. The transition zone between normal high and low water is devoid of plants.  We are working on selecting native species to inhabit this zone."

The plants that they are using include:
- Water Willow (Justica americana)
- Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
- Emory's Sedge (Carex emoryi) - video on this plant
- Prairie Cordgrass (Spartina pectinata)
- Bald Spikerush (Eleocharis erythropoda)
- Hairy Sedge (Carex lacustris)
- Gray's Sedge (Carex grayi)

Another really cool video from them:  Indiana Bat Survey

depave (Portland)

From Portland Oregon:  Depave.org

"Depave promotes the removal of unnecessary pavement from urban areas to create community green spaces and mitigate stormwater runoff. Through community partnerships and volunteer engagement, Depave strives to overcome the social and environmental impacts of pavement with the use of action-oriented educational events, community stewardship, and advocacy to reconnect people with nature and inspire others. Depave is a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Oregon."

Update 2014: Two Depave projects have now happened in Ottawa (Link to blog entry)!

Backyard Habitat for Wildlife

Lawrencetown has become the first municipality to be certified as "Wildlife Friendly" as part of the Canadian Wildlife Federation "Backyard Habitat" certification program.

"CWF's Backyard Habitat Certification Program recognizes the amazing efforts Canadians are taking to meet the habitat needs of wildlife and allows for properties to receive and official designation as wildlife friendly. In certifying properties, CWF ensures an outdoor space meets the needs of wildlife - food, water, shelter, space the inclusion of native plants. To date, more than 650 properties across Canada have been certified." 

Read more here: Lawrencetown Awarded Backyard Certification (East Coast Kitchen Party)


Image from East Coast Kitchen Party

volunteer!

Get involved in learning about and protecting our local biodiversity with:

- Ottawa Field Naturalists’ Club (including Fletcher Wildlife Garden)

- Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS)

- Friends of the Jock River

- Greenspace Alliance of Canada’s Capital

- Canadian Wildlife Federation (Backyard Habitat Program)

- Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre

- Ottawa Stewardship Council (cool turtle nesting project)

-  Real Action in Lanark

- Friends of Petrie Island