Welcome to the Watersheds Canada Resource Library!
Here you will find a comprehensive collection of free educational resources dedicated to helping rural shoreline property owners, families, municipalities, lake groups, and educators protect their lakes and restore natural habitat. Explore guides, best practices, case studies, lesson plans, and tools to become a freshwater protector. All resources are freely shareable so please include them in a newsletter, on social media, or printed for a community booth!
Funding support thanks to Peterborough K.M. Hunter Charitable Foundation, and S.M. Blair Family Foundation.
The Haunting Truth of Ghost Gear and Shoreline Garbage
“Ghost gear” describes any fishing gear that has been abandoned, lost or discarded in oceans, lakes, and rivers, including lead tackle, fishing lines, nets, traps, and rope. Left behind, these items can have devastating large-scale effects on aquatic ecosystems through habitat disturbance and direct harm to the welfare and conservation of wildlife via entanglement and ingestion. Read this blog post to learn more about this issue and how anglers can work together to reduce the prevalence of it.
The Importance of Collaboration for Charities & Non-Profits
Watersheds Canada relies on collaboration for all of our work. We have found that through strategic partnerships that are mutually beneficial, we can accomplish many additional outcomes that would not otherwise be possible. This blog post explores the concept of collaboration in the environmental field in great detail, and provides key considerations that should be in place for a collaboration to be successful.
The Importance of Dark-Sky Reserves for Wildlife and Ecosystems
Light pollution is excessive or misdirected artificial light. It is stealing our starry nights, posing substantial threats to wildlife and our own well-being, and wasting energy and money. This has spurred a global push for ‘Dark-Sky Reserves’ — sanctuaries free from light pollution. Read this blog post to find out why these areas are so crucial for both nature and people!
The King of Nature
Executive director Robert Pye shares his thoughts and personal anecdotes on our shared appreciation for birds, present in many facets of our life. This blog post was written for a past opportunity to win a hand-carved Belted Kingfisher, done by Canadian artist Mike Reader.
The Many Health Benefits of Nature
More and more, doctors are prescribing time outside as a means to alleviate a host of afflictions. Being outside can bring so many benefits to us, including providing us with vitamin D (which many people are deficient in). reducing stress and blood pressure, improving mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, and much more. Learn more about the powerful healing effects of being in nature in this blog post!
The Problem with Plastics blog
Plastic has become central to the way humans package, ship, and consume products. This includes everything from electronics, to medications, to baby toys. Plastic was—and still is in some contexts—considered a miracle product which is waterproof, hard-wearing, and easily malleable. However, we have allowed this material with a myriad of unknown adverse health effects to accumulate in Earth’s oceans. Learn more about how this happens and why it's a problem in this blog post!
This World Water Day, see the amazing fish habitat projects you have already helped complete!
This blog post centers around Long Sault Creek, a beautiful cold-water creek that was able to be restored thanks to the generosity and hard work of individual donors and community groups. It shows a before and after photo of the creek, and provides context about the value of cold-water creek restoration projects for building up native trout habitat.
Time is Running Out: An Interview with Al Best
Al Best is the President of Carson, Trout, Lepine and Greenan Lakes Association, and has participated in Watersheds Canada’s Love Your Lake program and Natural Edge program. Al was a strong advocate on his lake association, which resulted in him getting our Love Your Lake on his lake to assess the shorelines and also in him restoring his shoreline through our The Natural Edge program. Read this blog post for a full interview with Al to hear his thoughts on our Love Your Lake program, the impacts of the program on his lake, how it has changed his views on lake health, and much more!
Turn Off the Lights! by Love Your Lake
The light from ongoing construction can disrupt species’ feeding or breeding behaviours. This blog post provides some more information on this topic, using the example of birds and their migratory patterns.