Super User
Become a citizen scientist with City Stream Watch!
OTTAWA, May 13, 2024 – If you’re fascinated by the natural world, love spending time outside or simply want an excuse to splash around in your local creek, now’s your chance.
The RVCA’s City Stream Watch program will host a volunteer orientation day on May 25 for anyone interested in helping with its stream assessments, which carefully survey the full length of four Ottawa creeks each summer. This year’s candidates are Graham Creek near Bayshore Mall, Brassils Creek near Burritts Rapids, McEwan Creek in Greenboro and Greens Creek in Beacon Hill.
Survey volunteers can sign up for their preferred shifts on weekday mornings, afternoons or evenings, as well as Saturdays, with survey work beginning in June. Volunteers will help staff sample water chemistry for the presence of metals, nutrients and contaminants, and also record water temperature.
They’ll also help survey the stream's morphology, habitat and shoreline conditions, and note the presence of any native or invasive species.
“Urban creeks are especially vulnerable to pollution and invasive species thanks to their proximity to roads and developments, which can send a lot of contaminated runoff into our water,” said RVCA’s Acting City Stream Watch co-ordinator Eric Guitard. “By surveying these streams we can track the impacts and direct our resources toward areas that need some attention.”
This could include targeted invasive species removals, shoreline restoration or even recommendations for better stormwater management on nearby public properties.
Volunteers are the backbone of the program, which is administered by Ottawa’s three conservation authorities in the Rideau Valley, Mississippi Valley and South Nation watersheds with support from several community and non-profit organizations.
No experience is necessary, as the RVCA will host a volunteer orientation training day between 10 a.m. and 12 noon on Saturday, May 25 at the mouth of Sawmill Creek off of Riverside Drive for interested recruits. Training will also be provided on the job.
“It’s an incredible way to get involved,” said Guitard. “You make a meaningful difference to your local environment while spending the day learning outdoors. It doesn’t get much better than that.”
Volunteers are also needed for regular public clean-ups and invasive species removals, which usually take place on Saturday mornings across the city between now and October.
To join the volunteer mailing list or register for the orientation day, email . Visit https://www.rvca.ca/volunteer/city-stream-watch to learn more.
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Book it to Baxter to visit new Storybook Trail
MANOTICK, May 2, 2024 – Forests are full of stories, and now Baxter Conservation Area has added another in the form of a permanent Storybook Trail.
Thanks to a generous grant from the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation (TD FEF), a series of displays now dot the popular and accessible Fiddlehead Trail, beginning at the Interpretive Centre. Each case offers a single page of the featured story, allowing families to read together as they move along the trail. Fun activities and challenges that relate to the story also encourage kids to dive deeper into the natural world around them.
“This is such a wonderful addition to our trail network,” said Baxter Site Supervisor Andrea Wood. “Any way we can engage families while getting them outside in nature is a huge win for everyone.”
The Storybook Trail’s first featured book is A Log’s Life by Wendy Pfeffer, which follows the fate of an oak tree that has fallen in a storm. As the giant log slowly returns to the soil, new life springs forth in its place.
“The book ties in perfectly with what kids will see happening in the forest around them as they walk the trails,” Wood said. “It’s another way to spark their curiosity about the natural world.”
The Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation helped facilitate the TD FEF grant after a temporary version of the Storybook Trail was installed during the COVID-19 pandemic to safely engage families on site. It proved extremely popular.
“We are so thankful to TD Friends of the Environment for their ongoing support of our outdoor education programs,” said Foundation Director Diane Downey. “Kids are the future, and our partners are helping us invest in them.”
The Storybook Trail’s featured book will change with the seasons. The trail is open dawn to dusk year-round. Parking is $8 per day or $55 for an annual pass.
Learn more about Baxter Conservation Area and plan your visit: https://www.rvca.ca/conservation-areas/fee-required/baxter
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