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.
Fishing Through a Lens webinar with Dr. Rowshyra Castaneda
This is a handout from our webinar, "Fishing Through a Lens: Using underwater cameras to detect freshwater fishes". Freshwater fish play important roles in aquatic ecosystems but many species are at risk. Conventional fish sampling methods can be stressful and even deadly for these fish. Underwater cameras can be used as a non-invasive method to detect freshwater fish populations. This method is as effective as conventional methods and can be used in standardized monitoring programs.
Flood Impact Maps webinar by Dr. Slobodan Simonovic
This is a handout from our webinar, "Flood Impact Maps: A Standardized Approach of Understanding Vulnerable Landscapes". The document discusses the use of Canada Flood Impact Maps for understanding flood hazard, identifying high-risk areas, and investigating regional impacts. It also explores the Flood Map Viewer, a web-based tool that helps the public understand flood risk in their area. The document highlights changes in floodplain regimes over Canada due to climate change and provides additional resources for learning more about flood impact mapping. The Flood Map Viewer is a tool that includes visualization of flood and complementary maps, methodology used to produce the flood maps, and a download page for maps and other files.
From Rain to Root webinar with Rosmarie Lohnes
This is a handout from our webinar, ""From Rain To Roots: Slowing Shoreline Erosion With Storm water Management Techniques". Native plants along shorelines act as a buffer to protect waterways. Having a large shoreline buffer helps to protect water quality by reducing pollution as well as stabilizing water levels and water temperature. Healthy shorelines also provide habitat for a wide range of aquatic and terrestrial species. Effective storm water and runoff management is critical to protect freshwater areas.
Garlic Mustard webinar with Dr. Michael McTavish
This is a handout from our webinar, "Garlic Mustard: New insights into the ecology and management of an old adversary". Garlic mustard is a non-native invasive herb common in forested habitats. It was brought from Europe in the 1860s and has a biennial life cycle. Management is often labour-intensive and short-term, but can increase community engagement and awareness. Effective management requires prioritizing sites, sustaining long-term efforts, and considering the impact after control.
Great Lakes Aquatic Invasive Species Landing Blitz webinar with Cecilia Weibert
This is a handout from our webinar, "Great Lakes Aquatic Invasive Species Landing Blitz". The Great Lakes Basin is home to many aquatic invasive species. These species can spread through microscopic larvae or plant parts on watercrafts, trailers, and gear. The Great Lakes AIS Landing Blitz is an outreach event that works with multiple partners to manage invasive species and raise awareness. The event takes place over a two-week period in the summer and focuses on AIS prevention and containment, increasing awareness and responsible behavior, and promoting partnerships.
Helping Kids Love Nature: Water-inspired activities webinar by Annabel Slaight
We all know that inquiry, discovery, playing freely, and even taking risks in the outdoors brings benefits that will last kids a lifetime. ClearWater Farm, a demonstration eco-farm on Lake Simcoe, has been pioneering play-based learning from nature programming for kids right from its launch. In this webinar, you will get a behind-the-scenes preview of two extraordinary kids’ fun learning initiatives being launched this summer: a new e-book ("How to Think Like a Mushroom"), and an action-packed interactive website (http://ClearWaterKids.org) with experiments, games, activities, and videos. Both projects have the same mission: getting kids outside and loving nature!
How are you helping freshwater this year? An Earth Day celebration event
Learn about exciting new projects being delivered this summer to help community groups, property owners, students, and organizations take action for their lakes, rivers, and shorelines.
I Spy with My Little Eye...Something Green webinar with Claire Herbert
This is a handout from our webinar, "I Spy with My Little Eye...Something Green: Using Satellites to Assess Algal Blooms on Prairie Lakes". Satellite images are used to help understand the amount of algae in lakes and oceans. Scientists use algorithms to translate satellite images into measurements of algae by calculating chlorophyll concentrations. Water samples are taken to verify the representation of algae. Satellites are a cost-effective tool used by scientists to monitor and understand factors that affect the water quality of lakes.
Ice Fishing webinar with Erin Isfeld-Reynolds
This is a handout from our webinar, "Ice fishing: How to prepare for a safe and enjoyable day of winter angling". Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish through holes drilled in the ice of standing bodies of water. It can be a great way to introduce kids to fishing. To ensure a safe and enjoyable outing, check the ice thickness and use GPS to navigate. Implement responsible fish handling and stay warm.